Addict has sentence reduced for honesty

AN addict, who told Social Workers that it was not worth putting him on a Drug Treatment and Testing Order because he would not be able to stop taking drugs, was rewarded for his honesty by having his prison sentence reduced by six months.

Forty-year-old Sean Quigley of Tolbooth Wynd, Edinburgh, had pled guilty previously at the city's Sheriff Court to being concerned in the supply of Diamorphine in April last year. Sentence was deferred until today for background reports, including a DTTO assessment.

Appearing before Sheriff Gordon Liddle, Quigley's defence solicitor, Julie Livingston, said her client had told those preparing the report that it was pointless placing him on the Order as he would not be able to supply clear samples because of his habit. Quigley, she added, knew that what he had done would lead to an inevitable prison sentence.

Sheriff Liddle told Quigley that he was correct in that assumption, but added: "It is refreshing to see someone facing up to the truth instead of wasting other people's time. That is something we don't often see in this court. You are going to get the benefit for that. I would have been starting off with an 18 months sentence. However, because you have been frank, I think it is reasonable to start off with 12 months and I hope others are listening to what I am saying. It makes a difference when you get someone putting their hands up".

The Sheriff then reduced the 12 month sentence to eight months because of Quigley's early guilty plea.