Victims demand John Swinney halt early-release plan and tighten bail rules

Following the murder of Stacy Hunter by her husband Jim Mair while he was on bail, her brother Sean Hunter and other victims called on First Minister John Swinney to reverse a proposal that would allow long-term prisoners, including sex offenders and domestic abusers, to be released after serving two-thirds of their sentence. They also demanded tighter bail conditions and a register of domestic-violence perpetrators. Swinney responded by saying new regulations will enable GPS monitoring of bail suspects, with a pilot in Tayside, central Scotland and Fife, and pledged a new sexual offences court in the next financial year.

Victims’ advocates such as Liz Shanks and Carol Eden condemned the early-release plan as “soft” and a deterrent to reporting abuse. Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay and SNP criminal-justice committee convener David Linden voiced similar concerns, though the government has not yet committed to abandoning the proposal.