A youth who carried out a brutal and sustained knife attack as his helpless victim lay on the ground was ordered to be detained for life in a Young Offenders' Institution yesterday .
John Skidmore, 20, told police he should hang for his crime, and Lord Marnoch said yesterday that that but for Skidmore's age he would have suggested a minimum number of years he should serve before being considered for parole.
At the High Court in Edinburgh, Skidmore, of Ivanhoe, East Kilbride, admitted murdering David Semple, 33, of Lorimer Crescent, also East Kilbride, on January 25 this year.
Mr Calum MacNeill, Advocate-depute, told the court that the victim, a father of two who was separated from his wife, had been out drinking with a friend when the incident took place.
About 11.20pm people living in Telford Road, East Kilbride, heard a disturbance and saw Mr Semple running away from three youths. One ran up from behind and kicked him and he was knocked to the ground before being kicked again about the head and body.
That attack had not caused serious injury, but as Mr Semple lay motionless on the ground, not defending himself, Skidmore inflicted the fatal blows.
He stamped on Mr Semple's head, struck his head off a tree and repeatedly stabbed him with a knife before running away. The victim was taken to Hairmyres Hospital where he was pronounced dead within 10 minutes.
He had suffered stab wounds, nine to the back and one to the side. Five of them could have caused death. Skidmore was arrested shortly afterwards.
Mr Adrian Tonner, defence counsel, said that Skidmore's memory of events was impaired because of the amount he had had to drink. ''It is described by him as a moment of madness. He bitterly regrets his actions.''
Co-accused Gary Rooney, 22, of Coniston was given a deferred sentence for 18 months, and Steven McCulloch, 16, of Ashcroft, got an immediate custodial sentence of 18 months.
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