SENTENCING STATEMENTS
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HMA V Daniel Langman
May 15, 2023
On sentencing Lord Fairley made the following remarks in court:
"Daniel Langman, on 17 April of this year, you were convicted by a jury of the murder of Anthony Collins.
Your assault on Mr Collins included repeatedly striking him on the head and body with weapons including an iron, metal poles, a silicone sealant tube, and a screwdriver. You inflicted blunt force trauma and sharp force trauma to his head and body. Having then placed Mr Collins inside a duvet cover, you wrapped a cable around his neck and tightened it with a metal pole so as to strangle him. On the evidence that I heard, and as you appear to accept, it was that act of strangulation that ultimately caused his death.
It is clear to me from the statement produced by the elder sister of Mr Collins that his death is deeply felt both by her and by other members of his family. No sentence that I can impose today will ever change that.
As you were told by me following your conviction, the sentence for murder is fixed by law, and I therefore sentence you today to imprisonment for life.
The law requires, however, that I determine the punishment part of your sentence, which is the period you must spend in prison before you can apply to the Parole Board for Scotland for release on licence. You should not assume that you will automatically be released at the end of that period. You will be released only when it is considered that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that you continue to be confined in prison.
I have considered carefully what has been said on your behalf today by your Counsel today. I have had regard to the evidence that I heard at the trial. To the extent that it identifies mitigatory factors, I have taken into account what has been written by the social worker in the report prepared to assist me in determining the appropriate punishment part of your sentence.
You have accrued multiple previous convictions as an adult, several of which are for offences involving violence and / or weapons. I note that you express remorse for your actions on 16 May 2021 and for the lasting effect that they will have upon the family of Mr Collins. I also note that you experienced a troubled upbringing and that you have lived with mental health problems and substance addiction for significant periods of your life.
In all of the circumstances before me, I consider that the appropriate punishment part of your life sentence should be one of 17 years and six months, of which 6 months is attributable to the bail aggravation. I shall, however, take into account the time that you have already spent in custody by backdating the start of that sentence to 16 May 2021 which was the start of the period during which you were detained in custody awaiting trial.
As I have said, it does not follow that you will be released at the end of the punishment period fixed by me today. Whether or not you are will be for the Parole Board to determine. Even if you are ultimately released, you will remain on lifelong licence."
15 May 2023