New prison guidance 'gift to criminals' says MSP who received death threats
Stephen Kerr MSP said his wife was left ‘terrified’ by the death threats, which saw the man jailed
A Conservative MSP says the new recommendations on prison sentences are a “gift to criminals”, as the man who threatened to kill him would not be jailed under the guidance.
The Scottish Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission published a new report last week, recommending judges be discouraged from issuing prison sentences of less than two years in a bid to cut the prison population.
Currently judges are discouraged from issuing prison sentences of under a year, but the commission’s report said this presumption should be extended to 24 months.
This comes after the prison population hit a record high of 8,420 in October 2025, prompting the Scottish Government to release hundreds of short-term prisoners early.
Despite this, the prison population stood at 8,301 at the beginning of February and the SNP is planning to introduce new legislation to release prisoners after serving just a third of their sentence.
However Stephen Kerr MSP said the recommendations are a “slap in the face” to victims of crime like himself.
He said: “In 2016 and 2023, the man who threatened to kill me was sent to prison.
“In 2022 he was arrested in the street leading to my home. My wife was terrified.
“Under the proposals in this report, that individual wouldn’t receive a custodial sentence at all.
“This report is a gift to criminals, a slap in the face to victims of crime, produced by people more concerned with offenders than the harm they cause.”
He asked her to ensure custody is always an option in “cases of credible threats of violence”.
Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “I can’t imagine how that would have felt and the distress and trauma for his family.
“Victims are paramount in our considerations but the crux for me is I can’t reduce this debate to a knee-jerk, two-dimensional response because it is complex.
“A high prison population doesn’t equate to a safer Scotland, that's why I commissioned this report, so we could look sincerely and deeply at the evidence.
“I know we all want safer communities with less victims and fewer crimes, but we have to have the courage to follow the evidence on what will work.”
Mr Kerr disagreed and said: “Locking up violent criminals does make Scotland safer, and that’s where the public is on this.
“My experience is not unique - tens of thousands of victims have seen the people who harmed them, threatened them and robbed them released early or not imprisoned at all.
“Victims deserve a justice system that takes their safety seriously.
“SNP policy has consistently moved in the opposite direction and prioritises offenders over victims, and victims will find this terrifying.”
Ms Constance is due to make another statement on prisons in Holyrood later this week after announcing the plans to reduce sentences in a bid to free up space in Scotland’s overcrowded prisons.
It is expected this move will reduce the number of prisoners by between 239 and 312.
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