Neck stab dad"s fury at attacker's 'let off'

Court reporter • Published 24 Jun 2009 09:47

Traumatised victim: 'injury was life threatening'

A DAD has been left unable to work or venture out alone since being stabbed in the neck by a stranger with a pair of scissors.

Drunk Sean Scally, 22, carried out the unprovoked street attack - which was originally treated as attempted murder - after picking an argument with the victim"s brother and sister-in-law.

The trio were on Craigielea Road, Duntocher, in the early hours of April 18 this year.

Scally commented as he passed them provoking the woman to tell him to leave them alone.

But Scally reacted angrily prompting the husband to step between Scally and his wife, Dumbarton Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday.

As the husband tried to move his wife out of the way Scally struck him in the back of the head with a pair of scissors, at which point the man"s brother jumped in between them.

Lynne Jamieson, fiscal depute, told the court Scally 'lunged towards [the brother] and stabbed him in the side of the neck'.

Noticing the man was seriously injured Scally shouted: 'Is it all right? What have I done?' before fleeing the scene.

The stab victim was bleeding heavily and was rushed to hospital.

The court was told there was a two centimetre incision over a main artery in his neck and that the scissors had penetrated a muscle to a depth of four or five centimetres.

Scally pled guilty to assaulting the first brother, assaulting the second to severe injury and for breaching his bail conditions during a separate incident that night.

Scally was heavily intoxicated at the time of the incident.

His lawyer said there was a link between alcohol and his client"s offending and Scally was attending alcohol counselling and had enrolled in an anger management course.

Sheriff David Hall said the incident was 'an unprovoked attack on two members of the public with whom [Scally] had no prior dealings' and he was fortunate the injuries were not more serious. He sentenced Scally formerly of Redmoss Road, Duntocher, to a total of 30 months in prison backdated to April 20 this year.

The stab victim, who has been left scarred for life, told the Post after the hearing that the sentence was not harsh enough.

He also thinks the charge should have remained as attempted murder.

He told the Post: 'I think he should have got double that sentence and there"s no way the attempted murder charge should have been dropped because it was life threatening for me.

'I had to go through an operation and I"ll be scarred for life - it"s right down my neck

'I"ve totally changed - I don"t feel the same person at all.

'I can"t leave the house without a companion at the moment and I"m completely out of work.

'I have a wee boy and the whole thing has put such a drain on me that I can"t even pick him up - I"m still receiving counselling.

'What"s worse is that nobody actually threatened [Scally].

'I had turned my back on him and he"d walked away when he decided to come back and stab me.

'I can"t turn my back on people now - I"m totally on edge. It"s basically ruined my life.'

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This article appeared in Clydebank Post 24 Jun 09

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