Aaron Campbell jailed for 27yrs, for Alesha McPhail's murder

There have been a number of comments in this thread where people either deliberately or through lack of knowledge have not taken into account sentencing law in Scotland.

The current law states that:

Life sentences

Life sentences must be given for murder under the law, but they can also be given for other extremely serious offences such as repeated rape. If a person is sentenced to life imprisonment, the judge must, by law, set a punishment part of the sentence. This is the minimum time the person must spend in prison before they can be considered for release into the community by the Parole Board for Scotland. Depending on the circumstances of the case, the punishment part can be lengthy. To date, the longest punishment part given in Scotland is 37 years. If a person sentenced to life imprisonment is released into the community, they will be on licence for the rest of their life and can be recalled to prison if they breach the terms of their licence.

The judge in this case therefore had by law to set a minimum term. It does not mean he will be released after that term - simply that after 27 years he can be considered for release. Who knows what the findings of his suitability for release will be at that time. He's 17 now so he will be 44 before he can be considered for parole.