Addict jailed for knife killing

Published on Thursday 10 September 2009 20:38

A MAN who killed a fellow drug addict by stabbing him in the heart has been jailed for ten years.

Sentencing Kristopher Marshall, the judge, Lord Malcolm, said the death of Andrew Sands had been yet another example of the "dreadful and tragic consequences of carrying knives".

The two men, from Bridgeton, Glasgow, had been involved in a fight on 10 March this year and Mr Sands, 37, caused an injury to Marshall which needed stitches.

Next day they had another fight. Marshall, 25, took out a knife and struck Mr Sands three times. A blow pierced his heart.

Marshall was originally accused of murdering Mr Sands in Main Street, Bridgeton, but his guilty plea to the lesser offence of culpable homicide was accepted by the Crown, taking into account the earlier incident and the fact that Marshall would have anticipated being further assaulted.

Lord Malcolm said Marshall led a chaotic lifestyle and had a lamentable criminal record which included violence and carrying weapons.

"You were angry because of the incident the previous day. It is true he chose to confront you and he also possessed a knife, but it was you who produced a knife and used it, causing his untimely death," Lord Malcolm told the defendant.

He ordered that Marshall be supervised for four years at the end of the ten-year jail term.