Teenager who murdered boy of 14 in horror train station stabbing has his prison sentence cut by three years
- Daniel Haig stabbed Justin McLaughlin in the heart during fight
- Appeal court agrees to cut jail term as teen became 'normalised' to violence as a child
A teenager jailed for murdering of a 14-year-old schoolboy has had his sentence cut because he had become ‘normalised’ to violence through his childhood.
Daniel Haig, 18, stabbed Justin McLaughlin in the heart and left him to die on the platform of Glasgow’s High Street train station on October 16 2021.
He was given a life sentence for the crime by judge Lord Clark at the HIgh Court in Edinburgh in August 2023.
He was told he would have to serve a minimum of 16 years before he’d be eligible for parole.
But lawyers for Haig went to the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh to argue that the sentence given to Haig was ‘excessive’.
Justin McLaughlin was stabbed during a fight on the platform of High Street Station in Glasgow
Appeal judges said that Haig had become 'normalised' to violence during his childhood
Defence advocate Michael Meehan KC told appeal judges Lady Dorrian, Lord Matthews and Lord Pentland that their colleague Lord Clark had failed to take account Haig’s young age at the time he passed sentence.
The lawyer argued that Lord Clark should have taken the sentencing guidelines on young people into account.
In a written judgement, the appeal court upheld the submissions.
Lady Dorrian - who delivered the judgement - wrote that she and her colleagues had evidence before them about Haig’s background that Lord Clark didn’t have.
She said that this information showed that Haig had good prospects of being rehabilitated.
Lady Dorrian said that Haig should be given a 13 year long punishment part.
She wrote: ‘Having regard to all the known factors, and nevertheless fully acknowledging the dreadful nature of the offending, we are satisfied that the punishment part was excessive.’
During earlier proceedings, evidence showed Haig brandishing the knife which he used to stab Justin.
Haig was also seen in other CCTV images arriving at Glasgow’s High Street station before the fatal attack and then fleeing the scene.
Just before leaving the station, Haig had run at a group of youths, including his victim, and a clash broke out on the platform.
After the scuffle ended, Haig jumped on to the track to retrieve the knife which he had dropped before stabbing the teen.
Haig, who was 16 at the time of the attack, admitted knifing Justin but had denied murder.
He was found guilty following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
In the judgement published on Thursday, Lady Dorrian writes of how evidence provided to the court showed that Haig had become ‘normalised’ to violence through his upbringing.
She wrote: ‘The information now available to the court shows exposure to extreme domestic violence from an early age, first as a witness, later as a victim, and thereafter as a perpetrator.
‘The appellant’s mother is reported to have stabbed his father and, on a later date, to have threatened the appellant with a knife while he was holding his younger sibling.
‘The older relative, association with whom seems to have triggered an escalation in the appellant’s behaviour, is alleged to be involved in criminal behaviour in the east end of Glasgow and to have links to serious and organised crime.
‘His father and uncle are currently serving lengthy prison sentences for violence, and an older maternal cousin is serving a prison sentence for murder.
‘It is clear that the appellant has grown up in a familial environment in which the use of violence, including the use of weapons, has been normalised.’
Lady Dorrian also wrote of how there were signs of ‘positive engagement’ between Haig and staff at St Mary’s Kenmure Secure Unit - the institution in Bishopbriggs, Lanarkshire, where he was placed following the sentencing.
She wrote of how Haig had been ‘participating in structured activities’ which he found ‘engaging’ and he also showed a ‘capacity to build relationships’ with staff.
Lady Dorrian wrote: ‘There are good indications throughout the material that the appellant is a young man with some potential.’
