The family of a cyclist killed by a driver have spoken of their “disgust” after the Crown lost an appeal against his sentence.
Judges rejected an attempt by prosecutors to increase Gary McCourt’s “unduly lenient” sentence for causing the death of Audrey Fyfe by driving carelessly.
The 75-year-old died two days after McCourt clipped the wheel of her bike in Edinburgh in August 2011.
McCourt, 49, was sentenced to a five-year ban and 300 hours of community service after being found guilty at the city’s sheriff court in April.
At the end of the trial, it emerged he had previously been jailed for two years after being convicted in 1986 of causing another cyclist’s death by reckless driving.
George Dalgity, 22, was killed as he cycled along Regent Road, in Edinbugh, in 1985. Mrs Fyfe’s family hoped judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh would ban McCourt from the roads for life.
At an appeal hearing last month, Solicitor-General Lesley Thomson argued he should also be sentenced to at least eight months’ imprisonment.
Lord Menzies, who heard the submissions with Lady Dorrian and Lord Glennie, refused the appeal. Mrs Fyfe’s widower Ian said he was “disgusted” with the decision.
He said: “I can’t believe it. It sends out the wrong message to others, like the guilty, that the judiciary is not fit for purpose.”
Her daughter Aileen Brown said she was “lost for words”.
She said: “There was a unanimous vote in Parliament earlier this month to strengthen the enforcement of road traffic law, to ensure that driving offences especially those resulting in death or injury are treated sufficiently seriously by police, prosecutors and judges.
“The police here did an admirable job for us but the Scottish justice system appears to have had complete disregard for government policy.
“The decision to allow Gary McCourt and drivers like him to drive again suggests that the judiciary are frightened to grasp the nettle and make decisions which would make our country a safer place to live.”
Cycling charity the CTC said it was “extremely disappointed” with the decision, while the Scottish Greens called for a review of sentencing guidelines.
In a written opinion, Lord Menzies said: “It is perhaps easy to take a superficial view that, by his bad driving, the respondent has caused the death of two people in two road accidents over 27 years and that this required to be marked with a sentence of imprisonment.
“However, the sheriff has carried out the delicate and detailed sentencing exercise recommended by the definitive guideline with considerable care, and has given full reasons for the conclusion which he reached.
“This court must give weight to his views, particularly given that this is a case which has gone to trial and the sheriff has had the advantage of seeing and hearing all the evidence.”