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Edinburgh Live
21 hours ago
- Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh prisoners 'racking up £1m bill for taxpayers' after child snatch and murder plot
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A trio were found to be behind a horrific plot to steal children and murder their parents have racked up a £1million bill for taxpayers in Scotland. Valerie Hayes, Gary Reburn and Frank Amnott were identified by the FBI, and found in Glasgow back in 2018. Hayes and Reburn are listed as being held at HMP Edinburgh, with Amnott listed at HMP Polmont. This comes more than two years after they lost an appeal against their extradition to the US. So far they have cost the public purse at least £205,278 in legal aid fees and an estimated £750,000 to £800,000 in prison costs, reports the Daily Record. US prosecutors say ringleader Hayes fled to Glasgow after botching an abduction plot, which "read like a script from a bad horror movie". They say the mum duped childless couple Frank and Jennifer Amnott into believing she was a government agent before convincing them to help her carry out the abduction in return for a child of their own. The US Attorney's Office claim Hayes, who was living in Maryland with boyfriend Reburn, fed the couple lies that she was in intelligence and three of her kids had been kidnapped and were being held by two families in the Old Order Mennonites community in Dayton. Prosecutors say Hayes, Reburn and Frank Amnott planned to enter the first house and hold the parents at gunpoint. Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox After Hayes secured the two kids, Reburn and Frank Amnott would kill the parents before driving to the second house, force entry, and perform a similar murder. A Department of Justice affidavit said Hayes was disguised as a Mennonite when a parent opened the door and was held at gunpoint. Another parent fled and dialled 911 and, when cops arrived, found Frank Amnott holding the parent hostage. Prosecutors say Hayes and Reburn fled to Maryland to meet Amnott's wife before all three fled to Scotland, where they were later arrested. In 2019, Frank Amnott pled guilty to conspiracy to kidnap, conspiracy to kill witnesses and firearm offences. He said Hayes was central to the July 2018 plot. But Hayes says she was in the UK having been granted temporary asylum as a victim of "systematic torture" at the hands of a US -intelligence officer. Their appeals against extraditon were thrown out of the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court in London. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. In 2023, the case was sent to the European Court of Human Rights, a last chance at avoiding extradition. Hayes and Reburn, listed in court papers as being held at HMP Edinburgh, and Amnott, listed as HMP Polmont, have complained that their extradition would violate their rights because there is a risk they would receive a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole if convicted in the US. Interim measures have been granted by the ECHR to prevent their extradition pending a determination. The Scottish Legal Aid Board said: "Extradition cases can result in higher costs because of their international nature but we work with legal teams to ensure these are managed effectively." The last ECHR update said it was being "communicated to the Government for observations" in July 2023. The US Attorney's Office, in the Western District of Virginia, said it does not comment on pending extradition matters. The Scottish -Government said it would be -"inappropriate" to comment.
Daily Record
25-05-2025
- Daily Record
Female prisoner claims she was blocked from parole over 'trans' abuse of inmate
'I'm not transphobic- I just don't like Alex as a person." A female prisoner has claimed she was blocked from applying for parole for four years after being accused of an anti-trans hate campaign against a killer. Jayney Sutherley stood accused of trans-phobic verbal abuse towards murderer Alex Stewart, formerly Alan Baker, and child killer lover Nyomi Fee inside HMP Greenock between 2019 and 2023. However the hate crime case against Sutherley was found not proven, and Sheriff Millar added that referring to a trans person by their 'original biological state' was not transphobic. Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Mail from HMP Polmont, the grandmother said: 'I am so glad this case is over. When I left the dock, my legs buckled. I've not stopped crying.' Sutherley's solicitor told Greenock Sheriff Court Stewart only complained four years after the alleged abuse began after the case of rapist Isla Bryson in 2023 which resulted in prison service policies on where trans lags are housed being placed under review. Hairdresser Sutherley, 51, who killed a man with scissors, has told how she was denied being able to apply for parole due to the case which she believes was a bid by male-born Stewart to stay in a female jail. She added: 'Because of Alex I have lost three years of my life and precious time with my granddaughter. 'My latest parole hearing was the day of the trial. But I couldn't go with this hanging over my head, I had to be in court. 'This has stopped me progressing towards parole for years. I might not have been given parole at each hearing, but I was denied even the chance to try. 'These claims from Alex all came about when trans prisoners were put on notice and locked up for a month, when Nicola Sturgeon couldn't make up her mind after the Isla Bryson case. Trans prisoners feared getting moved to male jails. ' Alex wasn't scared of me. Despite knowing my crime, I killed a man with scissors, Alex still requested the prison salon to be opened for me to do hair for their art graduation. Why do that if you think I'm transphobic and you're afraid of me?' Bryson, born Adam Graham, began to identify as a woman while awaiting trial for rape. Bryson was sent to female jail Cornton Vale before ex-First Minister Sturgeon announced a switch to all-male HMP Edinburgh. Trans cons faced being moved to male jails but prison chiefs opted to let them stay if they had not shown violence to women. In April Britain's highest court ruled only two biological sexes – male and female, assigned at birth – can be recognised under the 2010 Equality Act. But Sutherley says existing SPS policies leave female cons at risk of facing similar sanctions to her if they're accused of being transphobic. Sutherley added: 'I don't have a problem with trans women. I am friends with Paris Green, who is trans. 'I just don't like Alex Stewart as a person, that is not a crime. I don't want to talk to Nyomi or make Christmas cards with her because she killed a baby. 'The system needs to change, the SPS needs to start listening to the majority and stop being scared of the minority. 'In women's jails, trans prisoners are given so many more privileges as people are afraid to get it wrong. There is no segregation in Greenock so when I was in the shower Alex would be in the cubicle next to me. 'But Alex would have all day to shower, we wouldn't. 'Nyomi and Alex run the jail. No-one can say anything in fear of being accused of being transphobic and end up with a court case hanging over their heads for four years. I don't want this to happen to any other women.' Hairdresser Sutherley was jailed for six years and eight months in 2020 for killing Alistair MacFadyen in Paisley. Stewart, 37, changed gender in 2016 after being jailed three years earlier for murdering dad-of-two John Weir. Fee was ordered to serve a minimum of 24 years after she and ex Rachel Trelfa, 34, were convicted in 2016 of killing Rachel's two-year-old son Liam. Bryson, 33, was convicted of raping women, as Graham in 2023 and jailed for eight years, with a further three on licence. Kate Coleman, former director of Keep Prisons Single Sex, said: 'The impact on Jayney has been immense.' The Parole Board for Scotland said they do not comment on individual cases. A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: 'Our staff work hard to support the health, safety, and wellbeing of all people living and working in Scotland's prisons. 'We have received the Supreme Court's judgement and are considering any potential impact it may have.'
