SENTENCING STATEMENTS
A judge may decide to publish a statement after passing sentence on an offender in cases where there is particular public interest; where a case has legal significance; or where providing the reasons for the decision might assist public understanding.
Please note that statements may include graphic details of offences when it is necessary to fully explain the reasons behind a sentencing decision.
Follow us if you wish to receive alerts as soon as statements are published.
Once charges are spent, any statement in relation to them is removed and cannot be provided or acknowledged. Statements published before the launch of the website may be available on request. Please email judicialcomms@scotcourts.gov.uk.
The independence of the judiciary is essential to safeguard people’s rights under law - enabling judges to make decisions impartially based solely on evidence and law, without interference or influence from the government or politicians.
When deciding a sentence, a judge must deal with the offence that the offender has been convicted of, taking into account the unique circumstances of each particular case. The judge will carefully consider the facts that are presented to the Court by both the prosecution and by the defence.
For more information about how judges decide sentences; what sentences are available; and matters such as temporary release, see the independent Scottish Sentencing Council website.
Read more about victims of crime and sentencing.
HMA v Maria Gardiner, Michael Anderson and James Houston
Mar 4, 2024
On sentencing, Lord Fairley said:
“On 8 February 2022, you all set off from a flat in Govan and travelled across Glasgow to Springburn with the intention of doing harm to Brian Maley. You took with you a toolbox containing items some of which were ultimately used as weapons.
On your arrival at Mr Maley’s flat in Springburn, you subjected him to a vicious attack which included multiple penetrating injuries. One of those injuries – a through and through stab wound to Mr Maley’s arm – severed major blood vessels as a result of which he suffered such severe and rapid blood loss that he died.
By its verdict, the jury accepted that the Crown had proved beyond reasonable doubt that all three of you were party to and participated in the plan to assault Mr Maley with weapons in such a way that his death was a foreseeable outcome. Since you each played a material part in carrying out that plan, you are all equally responsible in law for its consequences. The jury also found you all to be equally responsible for an attack on Mr Maley’s partner which involved striking her on the head with a bottle and the infliction of cuts to her face.
As you know the punishment for murder is imprisonment for life. I require, however, to fix the period of time which you must serve in prison before you are eligible to be considered for release on licence. That period is known as the punishment part of your sentence.
I have listened carefully to all that has been said on your behalf today, and I have taken account of the contents of the CJSWRs prepared for each of you. I have also read the Victim Impact Statements from Mr Maley’s three daughters. From those, their grief at the devastating consequences of your actions is painfully apparent. No sentence that I can impose today will change that.
Maria Gardiner
In your case, the punishment part on charge 4 – the charge of murder – will be 18 years. I will impose a concurrent sentence on charge 5 of 1 year. Having regard to the period of time spent by you on remand before your conviction, I will backdate the start of those sentences to a notional start date of 15 December 2023.
Michael Anderson
In your case, the punishment part on charge 4 will also be 18 years. Again, I will impose a concurrent sentence on charge 5 of 1 year. Having regard to the two period of time spent by you on remand before and during the trial, I will backdate the start of those sentences to a notional start date of 9 December 2023.
James Houston
You were on bail at the time of your commission of these offences. Taking that factor into account, the punishment part on charge 4 in your case will be 18 years and 6 months, of which 6 months is attributable to the bail aggravation. Again, I will impose a concurrent sentence on charge 5 of 1 year. You have been in custody on this matter since 20 March 2022 in relation to this case, and your sentence is therefore backdated to that date.
As I have said, the punishment parts of those sentences are the minimum periods that you must serve before you are eligible to be considered for parole. The point at which you are released on licence after that will be a matter for the Parole Board.”
04.03.24