Questions over murderer's early release from jail

Jason Graham had 23 previous convictions, but had been released on licence after a rape sentence

Questions have been raised over why a registered sex offender was released early from prison before he went on to rape and murder a pensioner.

Jason Graham was released from prison on licence in 2018, part-way through a sentence for raping a retired nurse.

He went on to murder Esther Brown, 67, at her Glasgow flat in May, and has now been jailed for at least 19 years.

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said there were "glaring flaws" in the system which put public safety at risk.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said there would be a significant case review into how the sex offender - who had 23 previous convictions - was monitored, saying the processes in place "clearly did not work".

• Man jailed for rape and murder of pensioner

Graham, 30, was jailed for seven and a half years in 2013 for rape - the latest in a lengthy string of offences. He was released on licence in 2018, and was meant to be monitored in the community.

However in May 2021 he subjected Ms Brown to an "utterly brutal" attack, repeatedly punching, kicking and stamping on the retired librarian before buying a packet of cigarettes with her bank card.

Sentencing him to at least 19 years in prison, Lord Armstrong told Graham he had committed "the gravest of crimes" and "the most depraved actions".

Friends of Ms Brown described her as a "walking angel" who helped prepare meals for the local community, and said there was widespread anger that Graham had been released early from his previous spell behind bars.

Ms Brown was a volunteer at a community regeneration project in the Woodlands area of Glasgow

At Holyrood, the first minister said her "thoughts and sympathies" were with Ms Brown's family and friends, saying that "nothing I can say will ease the pain that family is suffering".

Ms Sturgeon said: "There will be a significant case review that will assess the circumstances of the protection arrangements in place and the roles of the operational agencies.

"It is important to say that there are processes and procedures in place - which clearly did not work in this particularly tragic case - but there are processes in place to minimise risks posed by registered sex offenders."

Mr Ross said Graham had been "released early and not monitored properly", saying the case was "another damning example of the glaring flaws in Scotland's justice system".

He added: "Those processes and procedures didn't save Esther Brown from being raped and murdered. So I'm sorry, that does not cut it when we are dealing with lives being lost.

"This government's course of action has let some of the worst offenders back onto our streets, free to commit further offences."

Nicola Sturgeon said lessons must be learned from the case

Under current rules, almost all prisoners serving less than four years are released automatically at the halfway point of their sentence. Those prisoners serving four years or more are eligible to have their case considered by the Parole Board at this point.

The Scottish Tory leader said the government was consulting on "soft touch" proposals for the justice system which could see even more prisoners released early, claiming that "far too often, criminals are put first".

Ministers recently launched a consultation that could lead to shorter-term prisoners being released after serving a third of their sentence.

Ms Sturgeon said the government had legislated to end early automatic release in 2016 for longer-term prisoners, but said it was important to keep arrangements under review.

She said: "We should all be on the side of victims, but also on the side of making Scotland as a whole safer.

"That does mean trying to make sure that we have a penal system in place that punishes, which is a vital principle of any justice system, but that also helps us reduce the risk of reoffending.

"It is an easy soundbite for the Conservatives, but to describe a country as being soft touch on justice when we both have some of the lowest crime rates we've had in many years but also send a higher proportion of our population to prison than any other country in western Europe is simply not accurate."