Spotlight on Sentencing
As I read this report from BBC Scotland I wondered to myself how sentencing policies are developed within the Scottish criminal justice system.
Because although a very dangerous man was given a lifelong restriction order and a minimum of 6 years in prison, David McKinney (41) has a number of previous convictions for violence under his belt in addition to the four offences of which he was found guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Given his track record I can't imagine how anyone can think that McKinney is a real and permanent threat to women and that he is not fit to be released back into society for a very long time.
Rapist David McKinney given lifelong restriction order
A man who was convicted of raping two women - one of whom was pregnant - and assaulting two others has been given a lifelong restriction order.
David McKinney, 41, raped and sexually assaulted the pregnant 46-year-old at a guest house in Glasgow in 2004.
He was also found guilty of assaulting and raping another woman in Glasgow in 2008 and assaulting two other women in the city in 2010 and 2011.
McKinney must serve at least six years before he can apply for parole.
At the High Court in Edinburgh, where he was convicted earlier this year, McKinney was also placed on the sex offenders' register.
Previous convictions
The trial heard how McKinney attacked the pregnant woman, who was using drugs at the time, while they were staying at a guest house in the Cessnock area of Glasgow in 2004.
He was convicted of assaulting her, indecently attacking her, raping her and abducting her by preventing her leaving a room at the guest house.
McKinney, who has previous convictions for violence and possession of a knife, was also found guilty of assaulting and raping another woman in Glasgow in 2008, who was attacked and had her hands tied to a bed.
He was also found guilty of assaulting another woman who was punched and hit with a glass bottle at a flat in Glasgow in 2010 and of attacking a fourth woman who was also punched the following year.
