SENTENCING STATEMENTS

Upon sentencing, Sheriff Guy made the following remarks:

"Jamie Hamilton, you have been found guilty of two charges under section 1 of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 against different women.

I sentence you in accordance with the Sentencing Process Sentencing Guideline and Principles and Purposes of Sentencing Guideline.

Charge 1

You abused the first victim that you were in a relationship with between 1 August 2020 and 30 January 2023. The abuse was initially psychological and involved you falsely accusing her of being unfaithful, looking through her messages on social media without her permission, questioning her about who she contacted as well as contacting people that she contacted and accusing them of trying to start a relationship with her. You also made negative and derogatory comments about her, which caused her significant psychological harm.

On 16 June 2022, you physically assaulted her for the first time. You threw her to the floor within her home causing her to strike her head, and while she was lying on the floor, you used the weight of your body to press down on her chest with your knuckles with one hand, and with your other hand you strangled her so that she could not breathe for between 10 and 20 seconds. During this serious assault you shouted that you were going to 'punch her c*** in' and kill her. After this assault ended, you let the victim get up from the floor, but shortly thereafter assaulted her again when she asked you to leave her property, by throwing her to the floor and strangling her for a period of around 20 seconds, punched her on the head and verbally abused her. These assaults injured the victim and were to the danger of her life. Although you left the property, you then tried to force your way into it by repeatedly kicking and damaging a door. You also broke a window.

You assaulted the first victim for a second time on 30 September 2022, whilst on holiday. You again threw her to floor whilst shouting at her, repeatedly kicked her on the body to her injury and degraded her whilst she was in pain lying on the floor by pouring a can cider over her. You then humiliated her by throwing her clothes out of the hotel room in which you were staying.

Charge 2

On 1 January 2023, you entered a relationship with the second victim and abused her until 24 July 2024. The abuse was strikingly similar to that which you perpetrated against the first victim. When you met this victim, she was open with you about her mental health difficulties and vulnerabilities. She had two children, who were 8 and 13 years old at that time.

Notwithstanding your awareness of this victim’s vulnerabilities, you looked through her messages without her permission, questioned her in relation to who she was in contact with and made derogatory comments about her. She saw her close friends far less frequently during her relationship with you and she lost custody of her children as her mental health deteriorated during the relationship.

As with the first victim the abuse became physical. On 21 October 2023, you assaulted her by pulling her to the ground, slapped her on the head and strangled her to her injury and the danger of her life. She thought you were going to kill her. You subsequently told her that you had not wanted to stop strangling her.

On 16 July 2024, you sent a photo of a sexual nature of the first victim to her father, sister and most egregiously to her 14-year-old daughter, with a message in which you said that this is what she is doing. This upset her father and sister, and one can only imagine the impact that this would have had on her daughter. You accepted doing this during your evidence.

Shortly after sending this image, this victim was admitted to hospital due to the decline in her mental health. When she was released from hospital, she contacted you. Instead of caring for her, you assaulted her for no reason by punching her on the head whereby she became unconscious. When she awoke, she vomited. This overheard by her neighbours, one of which said during their evidence they heard the victim saying to you that you had assaulted her. You then questioned her about someone that she had been contact with and restricted her breathing by strangling her and forcing your hands into her throat to her injury and the danger of her life. A few hours later, after you had been taken away by the police, this victim tragically took her own life.

Culpability

In determining the appropriate sentence, I need to consider your culpability. I assess your culpability as being high because of the following factors:

• It would have been obvious to you that your abuse would cause psychological and physical harm, especially in relation to the second victim due to her vulnerabilities, which you were aware of. 
• The abuse took place over nearly 4 years and was therefore prolonged.
• You abused two people. 
• You intentionally degraded and humiliated both victims.
• The abuse towards the second victim involved her child.

Harm

I also need to consider the harm caused and the risk of harm from your offending. I assess the harm that you caused, and the risk of harm, as being high as result of the following factors:

• The impact of your actions on the first victim was obvious from her distress when she gave evidence. She displayed many of the features of someone that has experienced trauma and that all judges in Scotland are trained to look out for. She had to take around 5 weeks off work and had to leave the job that she loved because of your offending. She struggled mentally and physically to recover from what you did to her and continues to suffer from pain in her knee from when you kicked her. She says in her victim impact statement that she will be damaged mentally forever and struggles to socialise and form relationships.
• The abuse was prologued, which increased the risk of it causing serious harm to the victims.
• In relation to first victim, you strangled her to the danger of her life on one occasion. In relation to the second victim, you strangled and restricted her breathing to the danger of her life on two occasions.
• In relation to the second victim, although it was not established that you caused her death, as this was not the focus of the trial, the risk of harm from your abuse, and that she might take her own life as a result, is obvious.

Aggravating / mitigating factors

I consider that I have adequately considered the aggravating factors when assessing culpability and harm.

Insofar as there are any mitigating factors, I have taken into account everything that has been said on your behalf by your solicitor. It is clear from the character references that have been provided that you have been a good father to your children and there are positive aspects to your personality. Although you have previous convictions, they are of little moment. You have a supportive family, and a sentence of imprisonment will adversely affect your relationship with your daughters.

Sentence

You are now 41 years old.  

It is clear from the Criminal Justice and Social Work report that has been prepared that you maintain your denial to almost all the matters for which you were found guilty, as is your right. Standing the verdict of the jury, your position at trial, and now, is essentially one of victim blaming. Most concerningly, you did not demonstrate appropriate insight and remorse for the conduct that you accepted during the trial, which included sending an image of sexual nature to the second victim’s father, sister and daughter, and sought to justify this behaviour.

Although you have never served a prison sentence before, I am satisfied no other method of dealing with you is appropriate due to the seriousness of your offending and having regard to the sentencing purposes of protection of the public, punishment and expressing disapproval of offending behaviour.

The High Court has recently emphasised the seriousness with which the court must approach cases of manual strangulation in domestic relationships to deter others from this insidious and serious form of abuse. Such is the seriousness of your offending, and the potential harm that it could have caused in relation to the second victim, I considered whether it would be appropriate to remit this case to the High Court for sentencing.

If I were to sentence separately for each charge, I consider that a sentence of 30 months of imprisonment would be appropriate for charge 1. For charge 2, I consider a sentence of 48 months would be appropriate. That would exceed my sentencing powers, and I have decided would not be fair and proportionate having regard to you never having served a prison sentence before, the sentencing purpose of rehabilitation and the mitigating factors that I refer to above.

I will impose a single sentence for both charges of 54 months of imprisonment that will commence from 20 August 2026 when you were remanded into custody.

I will also make a non-harassment order such that you may not contact, approach or communicate with the victim in charge 1, or attempt to contact, approach or communicate with her, either directly or indirectly, for an indefinite period."

16 September 2026