Murdered teenager's family condemn killer's parole

The family of an Ayrshire teenager murdered by her ex-boyfriend have called for more action to recognise the victims of crime, after her killer was freed on parole.

Michelle Stewart, 17, was stabbed 10 times in front of her friends by John Wilson, then aged 20, after ending their relationship in 2008 in the village of Drongan.

Wilson was sentenced to life in prison but was granted release on license earlier this month, having served 16 years.

While he has restrictions on where he can live, the family - who have campaigned for "Michelle's Law "- claim he has shown no remorse, and have criticised the decision to release him.

Michelle's older brother Steven Stewart said: "There is no justice for Michelle because nothing will bring her back. We are serving the sentence now because he's out walking about.

"Murder should be life. That should be a life sentence and you don't get back out. It's the worst crime that can be committed."

During Wilson's prison term the family were shocked to learn he had been allowed to visit Ayr, close to where they live, during temporary release.

They began the Michelle's Law campaign to give victims a greater voice at parole hearings and for exclusion zones to be imposed on former prisoners.

The Scottish government has previously said it has amended parole rules to take greater account of the safety of victims, and exclusion zones can already be set as a condition for release.

The Stewart family believe their campaign has had some partial success.

Wilson has been banned from entering Ayrshire without prior permission and he has been told he cannot contact Michelle's family.

But Michelle's brother Kenny says there is still a long way to go.

"I think it's important that people making these decisions take into account the impact it's had on families," he told BBC Scotland News.

"It's easy to focus on him and everything seems to be towards giving him a better life and make sure they build a new life. For us, we're forgotten about."

The family was notified on 15 January that the Parole Board for Scotland (PBS) was satisfied Wilson was no longer a risk to public safety.

When he was sentenced, Wilson was told he would be in prison for at least 12 years before he was eligible for parole, and has now served four years longer than that.

In a letter, the board said he would be on license for the remainder of his life, under the supervision of the local authority they live in, and could be recalled to prison at any time if he breached the parole conditions.

The board said it could not comment on individual cases but each case was assessed on its own merits.

A spokesperson said: "The conditions are designed in each case to assist with the management of risk.

"The management of an offender in the community is a matter for their local authority supervising officer who can, if there are good grounds for doing so, request a change to licence conditions at any point during the course of the licence period."