Mother of murdered Edinburgh man meets First Minister in fight for 'John's Law'
Edinburgh knife campaigner’s hopes for ‘John’s Law’ in memory of her son
The mother of a young Edinburgh stabbing victim has met with the first minister to campaign for a new law denying bail to violent weapon offenders.
Lisa Petrie’s son, John McNab, 22, was murdered in Leith on September 2 last year by a 17-year-old boy who was already on bail for a separate knife attack at Portobello Beach.
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years in June.
Ms Petrie is now demanding the introduction of “John’s Law”, which would prevent anyone accused of a violent crime involving a weapon from being released on bail while awaiting trial.
Following a meeting with first minister John Swinney on Monday, she said she felt listened to and was optimistic about her campaign, which is backed by a 60,000-signature petition.
“It was not just on knife crime. It was more regarding getting bail conditions changed regarding violent crimes involving a weapon," she told the Evening News.
“The lad that murdered John was out on bail at the time. If this law was in place then, John would still be with us today."
Ms Petrie said she hoped the campaign would now take a step toward the lord advocate, acknowledging the Scottish Government cannot unilaterally change bail laws, but added Mr Swinney had promised to help.
Alongside legal reform, the grieving mother is pushing for the wider rollout of emergency blood kits to treat stab wounds and is urging supermarkets to remove knives from shop floors.
She confirmed Morrisons has already agreed to keep knives behind the checkout, meaning customers will have to ask staff to purchase them, similar to tobacco products.
She added: “The first minister also said he would advocate the blood kits we are pushing for. He said he will keep in contact with me about that and introducing John’s Law.
“We feel like we are getting somewhere with these three main objectives... and we just feel that if we are successful with our aims then John’s death will not have been for nothing.”