Iain Packer's appeal against murder sentence refused

Iain Packer had had his appeal against his sentence for the murder of Emma Caldwell refused at the Appeal Court in Edinburgh.

He was jailed for life in March and sentenced to at least 26 years in prison.

The 51 year old was found guilty of 33 charges against a total of 22 women, including Emma’s murder and 11 rapes.

Emma's body was found in woodlands near Biggar in Lanarkshire in April 2005., and until Packer's eventual conviction, her death had been one of Scotland's more high-profile unsolved murders.

The solicitor for Emma's mother Margaret, Aamer Anwar said: "Mr Packer evaded justice for nearly 19 years but will die a convicted killer and serial rapist. Packer’s name will one day turn to dust, long after Emma’s name lives on. Had it not been for Margaret Caldwell’s tireless campaigning, then any hope of justice would have been buried forever.

For far too long those responsible for gifting a killer his freedom, have remained in the shadows, but they must face the glare of public scrutiny, the only forum for that will be before a statutory judge led public inquiry. The Scottish Government appear desperate to appoint a Scottish Judge, despite the demands of Emma’s mother and cross-parliamentary support for a judge out-with Scotland’s jurisdiction, for which of course there is precedent- Justice must be seen to be done.

The Police and Crown Office presided over years of the misery, that saw multiple women raped and a killer emboldened by a belief that he had lifelong immunity. Whatever the jobs, addictions or vulnerabilities of Emma Caldwell or the 22 women who gave evidence, it should never have been used as a justification for sexual violence or to treat them as a second-class citizen – they mattered.

Packer is now irrelevant to the Caldwell family, and the focus should move to those police officers and Crown officials who betrayed the most fundamental duty of all to protect life. There should be no hiding place for those who perverted the course of justice, the victims of Packer deserve nothing less.”

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