Woman who set Motherwell house on fire, endangering life of a child, won't be jailed

A woman who set fire to her Motherwell home, putting a child's life in danger, has avoided a prison sentence.
Hammy SheriffHammy Sheriff
Hammy Sheriff

Akbibi Macmillan suffered fractures to her back and ribs when she fell as she tried to get out of the blazing property in Morven Drive. However, a boy aged eight and two females escaped unhurt.

Macmillan, 51, claimed the fire on July 18, 2020, started accidentally, but she was convicted of fireraising after trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court.

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Police officers who were at her hospital bedside told the court she handed them a note intended for her husband that read 'I know sorry is not enough for what I did, but it was not planned or anything'. In the note she asked her husband to look after two children.

The blaze broke out about noon and the court heard a neighbour used a ladder to rescue occupants from upstairs. Detective Sergeant Scott Wilson said separate fires appeared to have been started in the kitchen and the dining room.

Kazakhstan-born Macmillan said she usually smoked outside but on that particular day she had a cigarette indoors because she was upset. Her husband had left her and that morning she had argued with him on the phone.

Macmillan said she had been using a candle on the dining room table as an ashtray and that was where the fire started. She grabbed a dishtowel and "flapped" with it, trying to put out the flames. She remembered taking the towel into the kitchen and thought she'd put it in the sink, but she accepted she might have left it on top of a cupboard. She insisted the fire was unintentional.

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Her lawyer said at the time of the fire his client was suffering from "extremely poor mental health"

Sheriff Martin Jones told Macmillan: "It's clear you were suffering from various emotional problems. I fully understand you got to the stage where you thought things were hopeless, but that does not excuse the conduct the jury convicted you of. Normally an offence of this nature would attract a lengthy prison sentence.

Macmillan will be under supervision for two years and must attend counselling if required. She must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and will be electronically tagged for six months, meaning she's confined to her home each night.