Group petition for law to stop future Brandon Muir cases

By Cara Sulieman

A GROUP set up in memory of Brandon Muir are to have their child protection petition heard before a committee of the Scottish Parliament.

Calling on the government to set up a Safe Guardian scheme, they hope that children who are suffering from suspected abuse can stay with a safe family member while social services investigate.

RealJustice4Brandon claim that Brandon’s life might have been saved if he had been able to stay with his grandparents instead of returning to his mother’s house.

The tragic tot from Dundee died from a ruptured intestine just hours after his mother’s boyfriend, Robert Cunningham, assaulted him.

Allan Petrie from the campaign group hopes that the petition – which will be heard by the Public Petitions Committee on December 1 – will bring in a law to help protect Scotland’s children.

No appeal by Crown over child death

By ALEXANDER LAWRIE

THE CROWN has decided not appeal the ten-year sentence handed down to the killer of Dundee toddler Brandon Muir.

Robert Cunningham was found guilty of culpable homicide of the two-year old toddler at the High Court in Glasgow in March.

He was given the sentence by temporary judge John Morris QC which in effect could mean Cunningham walking the streets in just four years.

The judgement sparked outrage among members of Brandon’s family and child welfare campaigners, with one calling the Scottish justice system “a laughing stock”.

The Crown had initially indicated it would appeal the sentence if it felt it was too lenient, but on Tuesday they issued a statement ruling that course of action out.

A Crown Office spokesman said: “Following full and careful consideration as to whether an appeal should be lodged in this case, Crown Counsel reached a decision that the sentence imposed was within the range available to the judge in the exercise of his discretion and that any appeal would therefore not succeed.”