This week The Courier launched our A Voice for Victims campaign, demanding much-needed reforms in Scotland’s parole hearings.
We also called for Angus killer Tasmin Glass to be denied parole and remain in prison.
We reiterate that call today.
On Wednesday, Glass will go before the Parole Board where the panel will decide if she should be freed halfway through a 10-year sentence for her part in the murder of Steve Donaldson.
For anyone familiar with the case it is shocking, almost unfathomable, that Glass could be released back into our communities so soon.
She played a pivotal role in one of the most brutal murders Tayside has ever seen and was convicted of culpable homicide.
It was a horrific crime that saw her co-accused, Steven Dickie and Callum Davidson, convicted of murder.
Steven’s family have been clear since they were first informed the killer was eligible for parole – she should not be released.
That to do so would deny them, and Steven, any sort of justice.
His dad Bill said it was “unthinkable” she could once again walk the same streets as they do, so soon after Steven’s death.
They have demanded she stays in jail and serves her full sentence.
It is a demand we know our community supports. It is a demand we support.
Tasmin Glass played a “pivotal role” in the murder of Steven Donaldson.
That is not just our belief – or the belief of the family – that is a statement by a judge, Lord Brodie, following the killer’s attempt to reduce her sentence.
The comments are damning.
“She was the prime mover behind the assaults on the deceased,” said Lord Brodie.
“Without her active encouragement and participation, the attacks could not and would not have occurred.”
Five years – half a sentence – is not justice for a “manipulative and devious” killer so heavily involved in the murder of the much-loved 27-year-old.
This week, Steven’s sister Lori told us she feared that a decision had already been made and that Glass will be released.
The lack of transparency in how parole hearings are carried out and how decisions are made fuels the fear that Lori and her parents share.
FAMS, a national charity, told us that the Donaldsons are not alone in feeling this way.
Families often feel the representations they write to the parole board make no difference, their co-founder said.
That they are nothing but a tick-box exercise.
That is not okay. That is not right.
Victims of crime should know, without question, that their voices are being heard and that their pain is being taken seriously.
The only way to achieve that is through wide-ranging reforms which puts open justice at the heart of their rulings.
The parole system plays a critical role in our justice system – and it is a role which The Courier believes must be a part of our justice system.
It is because of that important role it must be above question.
In its current format it is not.
COURIER OPINION: Tasmin Glass must be refused parole and system must change
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24.02.2024
This week The Courier launched our A Voice for Victims campaign, demanding much-needed reforms in Scotland’s parole hearings.
We also called for Angus killer Tasmin Glass to be denied parole and remain in prison.
We reiterate that call today.
On Wednesday, Glass will go before the Parole Board where the panel will decide if she should be freed halfway through a 10-year sentence for her part in the murder of Steve Donaldson.
For anyone familiar with the case it is shocking, almost unfathomable, that Glass could be released back into our communities so soon.
She played a pivotal role in one of the most brutal murders Tayside has ever seen and was convicted of culpable homicide.
It was a horrific crime that saw her co-accused, Steven........
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