Families of crime death teenagers call for knife crackdown and tougher sentences

The families of two murdered teenagers are demanding tougher sentences on knife crime and stricter monitoring of killers who have been released from prison.

Paul Moy, whose son Kayden was stabbed to death last year, has joined forces with Lisa Stewart, whose sister Michelle was killed by her ex-boyfriend in 2008.

They were supported by Stewart Handling, whose daughter Grace died at the age of 13 after taking ecstasy tablets, during a meeting with Justice Secretary Neil Gray at the Scottish Parliament.

Gray later thanked the families for their contribution, and said some new measures such as GPS monitoring were being looked at.

Kayden Moy died from knife wounds on Irvine Beach in May last year after being attacked by teenagers Jay Stewart, Cole Turley and a third youth who cannot be named because of his age.

The 16-year-old was stabbed by Turley, who had multiple previous convictions and was on bail at the time.

Stewart had armed himself with a baton, just four days after receiving a community payback order for possessing a machete in a public place.

He had an earlier conviction for possession of a knife and a metal pole, as part of threatening and abusive behaviour.

His father Paul said that 18 months on from his son's death, he still struggled to cope with his grief but that he was determined to do something that might spare others similar suffering.

"Every other day is a battle, wakening up, just getting on with your day," he said.

"But things like this give me strength to keep going, to keep Kayden's name alive.

"I don't think we'll ever beat knife crime, but I believe we can put harsher laws in place, where it will reduce people from picking up a knife and make them think twice about going out the door with it."

In July, a video of Stewart inside a cell in HMP Polmont was posted on social media, showing the teenager topless, masked and rapping about the killing - claiming he would act violently again once he is released.

Michelle Stewart was 17 when she was stabbed 10 times by her ex-boyfriend John Wilson in Drongan, East Ayrshire.

Wilson was jailed for life and served 16 years in prison before being released on licence by the parole board in 2025.

He was sent back to jail later that year after breaching his licence conditions.

Michelle's sister Lisa believes convicted murderers should be subjected to monitoring by GPS for at least five years after they are freed.

The satellite-linked technology is able to track offenders' movements far more widely than older radio frequency (RF) tags which can simply tell if a wearer is within range of a base station.

"There is an element of supervision, but I don't think that reaches far enough," she said.

"That relies on the person being honest and truthful when they're going to their criminal justice social worker.

"As we saw the case with John Wilson, that wasn't the case.

"We have been fighting for the GPS tagging because they are given a life sentence and they should be serving some sort of life sentence through restrictions once they are out."

All three want the return of a rule on bail which was repealed under new legislation last year.

Section 23D of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 had set out a presumption against bail for people accused of violent offences, if they had a previous conviction for a similar crime.

Stewart Handling said: "I'm a supporter of the Scottish government but I totally disagree with removing that rule so fewer people are sent to prison.

"I think it's a very dangerous move. I know prisoners have rights but surely victims and their families must come first.

"It's a sad thing, but we need more capacity in the prison estate."

Speaking after the meeting at Holyrood, Justice Secretary Neil Gray said he was "incredibly grateful" to the families for coming forward with their personal experiences.

He said the government was currently looking at the expansion of GPS monitoring, one of the measures the families are calling for.

He said: "This is a relatively new technology for the justice system.

"There are examples of where it is in use where we need to look at some of the issues that it brings that are not the same as radio frequency technology, such as buffering zones and the need for it to be charged to ensure that we are getting those considerations right."

Gray said the government was also reviewing the parole system following a consultation.

On knife crime, he praised the work of the Violence Reduction Unit which takes a preventative approach.

"We need to get across to young people that just by the virtue of carrying that knife you're putting yourself at greater risk of harm in the first place," he said.