Killer loses plea on freedom bid

Stuart Quinn was one of three men jailed for the murder of David James at a flat in Glencleland Road, Craigneuk, in 2001. He was ordered to serve 18 years before he could be considered for release.

Quinn, now in his 40s, claimed his chances of being freed when he is eligible to apply for parole in May 2019 have been damaged because he won’t have completed rehabilitation programmes.

He sued for £10,000, but judge Lord Glennie dismissed the action at the Court of Session. He accepted that Quinn might not be ready to apply for release for an extra year, but bosses missing a target didn’t mean his rights had been breached.

The court heard Quinn has been in trouble repeatedly in jail, having run up 84 misconduct reports. The authorities said there was “evidence of pro-violence attitudes and a general pattern of anti-social behaviour”. However, his last misconduct report for violence was in 2013.

In evidence Quinn said he had never refused to take part in any rehabiliation progamme, but despite this there was now no prospect of him completing these im time to be considered for parole in 2019.

He added: “I’m disappointed with the system. They seem to have moved the goalposts.”