1,000 signatures reached
To: Justice Secretary, Lord Advocate and all MSPs
Murder of Craig McClelland - independent inquiry should be a legal right
We, the family of Craig McClelland, demand:
- a full independent inquiry into the circumstances that led to his murder
- automatic independent inquiries whenever a prisoner on HDC commits a murder
- changes in the law to make HDCs safer for the community.
Why is this important?
Craig McClelland, a loving father of three, was murdered in an unprovoked attack in his hometown of Paisley by a convicted knife criminal who had no right to be there. It could have been any one of us.
Craig’s murderer was on the run, having removed an electronic tag and breached a Home Detention Curfew, and he had been at large for five months. We believe that the Scottish Government, Scottish Prisons Service and Police Scotland all have questions to answer about Craig’s death but our calls for a full inquiry have been blocked by the Justice Secretary, Humza Yousaf MSP for no good reason.
We‘re still in the dark as to why Craig’s murderer was free when he should have been behind bars. We still don’t know why he was at large for months and why he was never caught. It still makes no sense.
Nothing will bring Craig back. The actions of one man mean he is lost to us forever. No one can change that and now three little children will grow up without a dad.
We believe a full independent inquiry is the only way to get the answers we need as a family. But we don’t want another family to go through what we have. We want to stop this happening to other families and to do that lessons must be fully learned.
We were promised answers by the Scottish Government but we still don’t have them.
If Scotland’s Justice Secretary or Lord Advocate can’t see why an inquiry is needed then the matter should be taken out of their hands.
The Management of Offenders Bill is going through the Scottish Parliament right now. MSPs should make it mandatory to have an independent inquiry whenever a prisoner on an HDC kills a law-abiding member of the public. If a prisoner kills another prisoner there would be a Fatal Accident Inquiry so why will families like ours not get one? This needs to change.
Tell the Justice Secretary, tell the Lord Advocate and tell MSPs that you are with us by signing this petition.
Please support our call for an inquiry into the circumstances that led to Craig’s death and changes in the law.
