Hammer attacker has sentence cut
A man who was jailed for nine years for a hammer attack murder bid has had his prison sentence cut after a legal challenge resulted in his conviction for a lesser offence.
A man who was jailed for nine years for a hammer attack murder bid has had his prison sentence cut after a legal challenge resulted in his conviction for a lesser offence.
John McIntosh (35) was sentenced to six years imprisonment for a serious assault on Daniel Main by judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh.
McIntosh was originally found guilty of attempting to murder Mr Main (37) in an attack at Dill Road, in the Tillydrone area of Aberdeen on July 20 last year, following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.
The victim was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and found to have sustained six or more blows from a hammer to his head resulting in a depressed skull fracture.
McIntosh, described as a prisoner, had denied the murder bid and lodged a special defence of self-defence.
He told his trial that when he met Mr Main he had taken out a bat and hit him on the head with it and he was unable to escape at the time as he was on crutches. Mr Main denied that he had armed himself.
Following his conviction lawyers acting for McIntosh raised a legal challenge and leave to appeal was granted on the ground that the trial judge, Lord Glennie, had misdirected the jury by failing to give directions on the issue of provocation in the case.
His counsel, Jonathan Crowe, had argued before Lord Menzies, sitting with Lord Bracadale and Lord Turnbull, that the trial judge had been wrong to decide that the evidence could not support a plea of provocation.
Lord Turnbull said: "We accept the submission made on the appellant's behalf that the trial judge ought to have give directions on provocation and left open to the jury the opportunity of returning a reduced verdict on that basis."
Following their ruling the appeal judges quashed the conviction for attempted murder and substituted one for assault to severe injury, permanent disfigurement and impairment and to the danger of life.
Mr Crowe told the appeal court that McIntosh, or Copolo, was an unemployed landscape gardener who did not keep good health and had suffered from heroin addiction.
In imposing a reduced prison sentence on McIntosh Lord Menzies pointed out he had a bad record, including numerous convictions for violence.
An appeal by McIntosh's former co-accused and then girlfriend, Joanne Mitchell who was jailed for two and a half years for assault was refused.