SENTENCING STATEMENTS
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HMA v Connor Manners
Jul 17, 2026
Upon sentencing, Lord Renucci made the following remarks:
"On 8th June at a trial diet, you pled guilty to the utterly senseless murder of Gary Nicol. A man who had done you no wrong, a man you did not know and a man you had never met. Nonetheless, he was a man who you targeted and lured into meeting you for the sole purpose of inflicting serious harm upon him.
"And in doing so you deprived three adult children of their father, and his mother of a much-loved son.
"Even though you have pled guilty to his murder it is clear from the terms of the Criminal Justice Social Work Report (CJSWR) that you do not accept full responsibility for your actions, claiming that on arrival at the locus, it was Mr Nicol that ran at you and attacked you, even though you were the one armed with a crossbow and a knife,
"You suggest that a physical altercation took place in which he took the knife from you, before you recovered it from him and stabbed him twice in the neck and once in the chest, because you felt threatened for your own life. You then claim that Mr Nicol staggered back towards his car and you ran home.
"There are many problems with that version of events Mr Manners not least the fact that it doesn’t explain the DNA and footprint evidence that suggests you were within Mr Nicol’s car at some point nor the fact that Mr Nicol’s car and house keys were recovered from your home.
"And it certainly doesn’t it fit in with the injuries sustained by Mr Nicol at your hands.
"Let me make it absolutely clear Mr Manners I totally reject your versions of events.
"The evidence suggests that this was a brutal, premeditated, cowardly attack on a totally unsuspecting victim.
"An attack during which Mr Nicol sustained two slash wounds to his neck, six stab wounds to the left side of his neck one of which punctured his jugular vein and four stab wounds to the left side of his chest. Two of which penetrated his chest cavity.
"Furthermore, while you were being processed at Livingston Police Office you said to the police, 'just as well you caught me, I was going to do another one'.
"You clearly intended to kill your victim, and in executing that intention you murdered him.
"The victim impact statements provided to me, prepared by Mr Nicol’s daughter and elderly mother make abundantly clear the profound impact that your actions have had upon them, and no sentence that the court can impose can compensate for the grief and loss that you have visited upon them. You have changed their lives forever.
"All actions have consequences Mr Manners and for you those consequences will be significant and long lasting.
"I have listened carefully to the submissions which have been made on your behalf by senior counsel, and I have considered also the psychiatric and psychological assessment reports which confirm that you do not present with symptoms of a major mental illness.
"You knew exactly what you were doing that night and what’s more you knew it was wrong.
"As I said on the last occasion the only sentence for murder is fixed by law. That is life imprisonment and that is the sentence that I now impose.
"However, as part of the sentencing process I am also required to fix a punishment part. In doing so I must reflect the need not only to punish you but to deter you and others from such offending.
"Please understand this Mr Manners the punishment part is not the period you will spend in custody before being released, the punishment part is the number of years you must serve before you can even be considered for release on life licence.
"You may never be released, whether you are released at some point will be a decision for the parole board, and that decision will be determined by the risk you pose.
"In fixing the punishment part therefore, I do not take into account the risk you may pose in the future. As I have said that will be a matter for the parole board. What I do take account of principally, is the seriousness of the offence for which you have been convicted, namely murder and the circumstances in which you committed it.
"I also take account of the timing of your plea and even though your plea of guilty came late at the trial diet it nonetheless had some utilitarian value.
"I therefore fix the punishment part at 20 years imprisonment that period is reduced from one of 21 years to reflect the timing of your plea.
"That sentence will run from 14 October 2024. The date you were first remanded in respect of this matter."
17 July 2026