3 days ago
Probe into murder of 'Good Samaritan' dad could expose 'systemic failings'
"Good Samaritan" Alan Geddes was killed by Stuart Quinn after he let Quinn stay at his home a day after he was released from prison.
Scottish Government ministers have been urged to widen scrutiny laws so incidents like the horrific murder of a Scots dad "will never be repeated".
Alan Geddes, 56, was stabbed 40 times by Stuart Quinn in December 2019 after he had offered him a room for the night at his home in Aberdeen.
The "Good Samaritan" had met Quinn, who was homeless, during an evening out. Quinn had only just been released from prison a day earlier and went to a homeless unit, only to find it closed.
He was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years behind bars for murdering Alan Geddes.
The Geddes family called for a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into his death, but their requests were denied despite "obvious failures" leading to Quinn's release without being given any support in the community, reports Aberdeen Live.
However, North East MSP Douglas Lumsden has since called on justice secretary Angela Constance to increase the remit for statutory inquiries.
Ms Constance said a review of the fatal accident system "as it relates to death in custody" commenced in January this year.
During justice questions at Holyrood, Conservative MSP Mr Lumsden said: "The question was concerning deaths outside of custody settings.
"In 2019 Aberdeen father and good Samaritan Alan Geddes was murdered by a man released from prison just hours earlier.
"In 2023, the Mental Welfare Commission released its damning report, highlighting a list of failures in the runup to the release of Stuart Quinn and if government agencies had acted differently, the outcome could have been different.
"Alan's sister Sandra continues the fight for answers and this case is crying out for a Fatal Accident Enquiry.
"Would the cabinet secretary agree with me that when someone commits murder just hours after release from prison there has obviously been failures and the criteria for a statutory FAI must be widened to cover these situations?"
He has previously tried to seek amendment to the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023, which would have meant offenders released from prison would have access to a post-custody outreach service. However, this was voted down.
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Ms Constance responded: "I know that Mr Lumsden has been a keen advocate on behalf of his constituent, Sandra Geddes, who I had the pleasure of meeting as a result of an intervention from Mr Lumsden when the bail and release bill was going through parliament, and there was a number of changes at that time in and around through-care standards in legislation and of course, the imperative nature of good release planning.
"Whilst the current review that I have commissioned is focused on deaths in custody, I should say to Mr Lumsden any wider learning points from the review will be given due consideration, in a broader context."
Mr Lumsden later added: "There's clearly been systemic failings around the release of a man who went on to commit this horrific crime.
"That's why I'm calling for a fatal accident inquiry so that we can learn why it all went so badly wrong, so it will never be repeated.
"And so no other family have to go through what the Geddes family have had to go through."
