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.

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 Lee Milne

Apr 10, 2026

At the High Court in Glasgow, Lady Drummond imposed an 11 years extended sentence on Lee Milne after the offender was convicted of Culpable Homicide and domestic abuse. The custodial term was set at 8 years with an extension period of 3 years.

On sentencing Lady Drummond made the following remarks in court:

"Mr Milne, the jury unanimously convicted you of carrying out a course of abusive behaviour towards your wife, Kimberley Milne, from January 2022 until July 2023. They also convicted you of culpable homicide, finding that your abusive behaviour caused Kimberley Milne to fall to her death.

Over those 18 months, you repeatedly abused Kimberley Milne. Some of that abuse involved physical violence including seizing her by the neck, restricting her breathing, repeatedly punching her on the head and body, striking her so that she fell and lost consciousness, and repeatedly choking her.

The abuse was not only physical. You belittled her by shouting and swearing at her, calling her names, you tried to cut her off from her family, checked her phone, restricted her movements, and controlled her access to money and transport.

Domestic abuse is rarely about one incident. It is not only about violent acts. It includes more subtle, but nonetheless as harmful, exertions of power and control in a relationship. It builds over time. Each act—whether physical, psychological, or financial—adds to the next, increasing pressure and fear, eroding confidence and independence. It is the cumulative effect of the varied types of abuse that makes domestic abuse so harmful and damaging.

By 27 July 2023, you had split from Kimberley Milne and knew that she was in distress and having difficulties that day. Your response to her that day driving erratically and at speed whilst she was in the car with you, shouting at her and throwing an item at her, acting aggressively and intimidating her, was further abuse carried out by you at a time when she was in a fragile state. Following your actions, Kimberley Milne reached a point of despair, such that she climbed over the barrier of a road bridge and fell to her death. By the jury’s verdict, you must bear responsibility not only for all of your abusive acts but for causing her death.

Kimberley Milne faced several difficulties in her life some of these before she met you. I take into account the history of your relationship and the complexities of it.

The victim impact statements from Kimberley Milne’s family describe her as “one in a million”—a much‑loved daughter, sister, and aunt. They are devastated by her death. Nothing I say or do today can bring her back or ease their grief.

In deciding on the sentence, I take into account everything that has been said this morning on your behalf and is in the report. You are a 40 year old man who has previous convictions, including for road traffic matters, for an assault and for breaching court orders. You have served a prison sentence before. The report before me notes your difficult upbringing, personal circumstances and your steady employment. You accept some of your abusive behaviour but continue to minimise your actions. You are assessed as posing a high risk of further offending and of causing serious harm.

Given the seriousness of these offences, a custodial sentence is the only appropriate disposal.

I consider the sentence that I am about to impose to be no more severe than is necessary for the purposes of protecting the public, punishing you, expressing concern and disapproval of your offending as well as rehabilitating you.

On the basis of the risk assessment in the report, and the nature of your offending, I am satisfied that the normal period of licence would not be enough to protect the public from serious harm from you when you are released. I therefore impose an extended sentence, which has two parts.

The first part is the period you will spend in prison. Although there are two charges, they describe a continuous course of conduct. I therefore impose a single period for the two offences of 8 years’ imprisonment. Six months of that is due to the fact you were on bail at the time.

Had the domestic abuse charge stood alone, the period of imprisonment would have been 4 years. Had the culpable homicide charge stood alone, the period of imprisonment would have been 7 years. Looking at the overall sentence, I consider a period of 8 years imprisonment to be appropriate.

The second part of the sentence is the extension period. This begins when you are released from prison. During that time, you will be supervised in the community under conditions set by the Scottish Ministers. If you breach those conditions, you may be returned to custody. If you commit another offence while on licence, the court may also deal with you for that. I set the extension period at 3 years.

The sentence is therefore an extended sentence of 11 years: 8 years imprisonment and 3 years on licence. It is backdated to 2 March 2026, when you were first remanded in custody.