Exclusive:'We've been given a life sentence of grief': Mum of John McNab speaks out after teen killer who stabbed her son to death in Edinburgh jailed
John McNab was murdered by the unnamed 17-year-old male during a knife attack in Leith last year
The mother of murdered man John McNab says “no sentence will be long enough” after the teenager who killed her son was handed a life sentence behind bars.
John McNab, 22, was stabbed and killed last year during a confrontation on Great Junction Street in Leith in the early hours of Tuesday, September 2.
A 17-year-old male youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to his murder and was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years behind bars.
Reacting to the sentence delivered at the High Court in Dundee on Thursday morning (June 4), Lisa Petrie, John’s mum, told the Evening News: “No sentence was ever going to be enough.
“As a mother, my son deserves more, but it was a lot longer than I expected, which I'm grateful for.
“We've been given a life sentence for grief.”
Lisa described John as “a massive part of our family”, saying: “He was literally a yo-yo, a beautiful bouncing boy and he was so funny.
”He did not like confrontation, he couldn’t deal with it. So if you had that tension, he would try and be funny, crack a joke, things like that to basically bring you to that tension. That's the type of person John was.
“And when you lose that, when you lose that bundle of energy and that bundle of loveliness, it's a big loss.”
She added: “John was never in trouble. He never carried a weapon, he wasn't the troublemaker. He didn't cause any of this. It's just not fair.
“I don't want anybody to be here again. I don't want another family to be here again.”
Lisa has said that she will continue to fight against knife crime in her son’s memory.
Following John’s death, Lisa began a campaign to make knives less accessible on supermarket shelves and to made bleed kits widely available in businesses and other venues for emergency incidents.
She now says that she will continue to campaign in John’s honour, saying: “The community, the wider community, everybody’s support has been phenomenal.
“I think at the beginning when it came to the bleed kits there were a lot of businesses scared of having it because it may look like they're a bad business establishment.
“But I think the public are starting to see the benefit of having the kits readily available.”
The grieving mum is also calling for tougher bail conditions for those charged with using a bladed weapon, after the teenage male youth attacked John while out on bail for a separate incident.
The 17-year-old also pleaded guilty to this initial incident, which took place in Portobello in March 2025 and saw a teenage boy taken to hospital after sustaining a knife wound to his back.
Lisa said: “If you are charged with using a serious weapon, that the bail conditions need to be tougher. If you've already attacked somebody with a knife, why are you getting allowed to walk back the streets?
“I'm getting a lot of feedback from people that younger kids are carrying knives because they're scared. They're not actually carrying them because they're wanting to use them.
“But if you have actually used a knife, the prosecutor or whoever it is that does the ruling there needs to actually start looking at the proper sentencing.”
Following Thursday’s sentencing, Laura Buchan, legal director at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said that the case of John’s murder must be a warning over how using and carrying knives can destroy lives.
Ms Buchan said: “Within Scotland’s prosecution service, we have seen too many cases where young people carrying knives has led to loss of life. Families are left devastated and communities can be left living in fear.
“The murder of John McNab shows the serious and tragic harm caused when someone chooses to carry and use a bladed weapon.
“At just 17, the offender now faces time in custody and a lifelong criminal record because of his deliberate actions.
“That cannot compare to the lasting loss suffered by John’s family, and our thoughts remain with them.
“We hope this conviction sends a clear message to young people. Carrying a knife or other bladed weapon is illegal and can have lifelong consequences.
“It can cause serious and lasting harm - to you, your family, your friends and to others.
“COPFS will continue to do all we can to ensure those responsible for this type of crime are held to account.”