One of the Scotland's oldest prisoners is being made to serve his full term behind bars despite suffering from dementia.
Now, the family of 75-year-old Jim McDonald are begging prison chiefs to allow him home in time for New Year.
They have demanded to know why he is still serving a four-year term for fraud when violent and sex offenders often get out under automatic early release rules.
McDonald, from Stirling, is three years and three months into a four-year term for countersigning photographs on two passport applications in the early 2000s that had been made under false names.
Most prisoners serving four years or more, which is classed as a long-term sentence, are released on licence after two-thirds of the term.
But changes made in 2016 mean they can be held until six months remain. Parole bosses refuse to let Jim out, despite the fact he needs carers to look after him in jail.
His wife Vhairi, 70, said: “I can’t believe my husband is being kept in prison until the bitter end. He has already served seven months more than most violent and sexual offenders sentenced to four years.
“Jim is in a poor way. He has developed dementia. We talk on the phone and he has no idea what’s going on and now has carers going in to help him shower and dress.”
Jim’s family say they have asked repeatedly for a health assessment and requested that he is released on compassionate grounds but have been told Jim has to make the move himself.
Vhairi says relatives visiting her husband in recent weeks have found him “weak and confused”. She added: “Prison is about keeping people who are dangerous away from society.
“Anyone who knows Jim would tell you he’s no danger to anyone. What’s it costing the taxpayer for his daily carers, and how dangerous can a man of 75 be when he needs help showering and dressing?
“They need to show some mercy, especially at this time of year – send him home to his family and let us take care of him.”
A spokesperson for the Parole Board for Scotland said it considers each case on its merits. A spokesperson for the Scottish Prison Service said it doesn’t comment on individual prisoners.
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