Family of murdered Michelle Stewart furious over lack of rehabilitation for killer
Michelle's killer John Wilson has received no work related to intimate partner violence during his prison sentence.
Serious concerns are being raised about the way rehabilitation is being delivered in Scotland's prisons, by the family of a murdered Ayrshire teenager.
Michelle Stewart was stabbed in the back 10 times by ex-partner John Wilson in 2008, in the East Ayrshire town of Drongan.
Wilson was given a life sentence with a minimum of 12 years.
Michelle’s family have been fighting for exclusion zones ever since, to ensure he can never return to Ayrshire.
He was recently denied parole for a third time on March 8.
Lisa Stewart was shocked when minutes from the parole board hearing of her sister Michelle's killer revealed he's had no access to work related to intimate partner violence, despite serving 15 years of the life sentence.
Michelle's killer has received no rehabilitation work in relation to intimate partner violence.
Point 7 of the parole minutes stated that Wilson “has not yet had the opportunity to engage with offence focused work in relation to intimate partner violence”, which they say, “is only offered in the community.”
John Wilson can apply for release again in November, and Lisa says she can't understand how he can be eligible.
She tells Greatest Hits Radio: “This man is now applying for parole and at one point in the future he will be granted this, having had no rehabilitation within the prison system.
“His reps are saying he can’t access it because its community based, but he is still considered high risk to the public. So, what have they been doing with him the past 15 years.
“Prisoners who’ve committed crimes such as this shouldn’t be only able to access this type of rehabilitation work within the community. Surely this should be undertaken when they’re in prison.
“The prison service considers him safe because he’s been out on day release multiple times, but there was no evidence produced to the parole board hearing by them that could reassure them that he was safe to be released. The parole board hearing even considered him to be high risk to the public.
“To me that raises a whole new issue about what’s going on within the prison system and the rehabilitation system as a whole.”
Both the Scottish Prison Service and the Scottish Parole Board said they “do not comment on individual cases”.
A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “A broad range of offence focused interventions are delivered by SPS across our establishments, designed to address individuals' needs and risks.”
A Scottish Parole Board spokesperson said: “The Parole Board for Scotland does not comment on individual cases.
“More generally, when considering an individual for release on parole the Board will take account of a dossier of reports including those relating to the index offence, conduct in custody, progression, social support and plans for release.
“The Board has no remit in relation to the completion of programme work as this is the responsibility of the Scottish Prison Service although they may take account of this.
“The main consideration for the Board will be to assess whether a prisoner is likely to be a risk to the community if they are released on licence.”