The 10 most infamous criminals who spent time in Scottish prisons

Edinburgh's jails have held infamous criminals.

Edinburgh may be known worldwide for its bonny views, but the city has always had a darker side.

The streets of Scotland's Capital carry centuries of bloody history - and so do its jails. For many years, Calton Jail was the fearsome fortress which held Auld Reekie's worst criminals.

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In recent years, HMP Edinburgh, also known as Saughton prison, has been home to some of Scotland's most violent offenders. Here are some of the most infamous names who have been locked up in the city.

Peter Tobin

Peter Tobin died at HMP Edinburgh in 2022. Picture: Ian RutherfordPeter Tobin died at HMP Edinburgh in 2022. Picture: Ian Rutherford
Peter Tobin died at HMP Edinburgh in 2022. Picture: Ian Rutherford

Tobin died in 2022 while serving a whole-life order at HMP Edinburgh for three murders of two young women and a 15-year-old girl. The cruel killer raped and murdered 23-year-old Polish student Angelina Kluk before burying her body under a Glasgow church in 2006.

In 1991, he killed 15-year-old Vicky Hamilton and 18-year-old Dinah McNicol. Their bodies were found buried in the garden of his Kent home 17 years later.

Jessie King

Famed for being the last woman hanged in the Capital, King murdered three children in the 1880s. She was first accused after the body of an infant was found in Stockbridge and a dead baby girl was later found in the coal closet of her home.

She was executed at Calton Jail in 1889. Retrospectively, some historians have questioned whether she was mentally ill and if she may have been innocent of the crimes.

Philip Murray

The city news vendor was the last man hanged at the long-feared Calton Jail, having killed a man his partner brought home. Murray threw 30-year-old William Cree out of the window and to his death at the Jamaica Street home he shared with prostitute Kate Donaghue.

'Big bruiser' Murray had brutally assaulted Mr Cree before killing him. Despite protesting his innocence, he was executed on October 30, 1923.

William Burke and William Hare

The notorious pair carried out sixteen killings in Auld Reekie over 10 months in 1828. Famously, they sold the bodies to anatomist Robert Knox, who dissected them during lectures.

Hare was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for giving evidence against Burke. The latter was hanged in front of a crowd of around 25,000 on January 28, 1829.