Rare trip to west for appeal judges
26 Jul 05
Criminal appeal court sits in Glasgow to tackle outstanding cases
Appeal court judges are making a rare trip beyond Edinburgh in an attempt to reduce the backlog of cases involving convicted murderers.
The Justiciary Appeal Court is sitting in Glasgow for four days to deal with appeals from 27 life prisoners, sentenced before the current regime came into force in 2001, who are appealing against the minimum terms they have been told they must serve.
Among the murderers due to appear today before the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Gill, and Lord Penrose is Gerald McQuade, convicted 10 years ago of killing a pensioner during a bank robbery in Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, whose punishment part was set at 18 years.