Around 220 people have been waiting longer than 12 months for healthcare treatment in Dumfries and Galloway – with the numbers rising every week.
31.03.2023 - 03:57 / dailyrecord.co.uk
A woman held hostage for months by a brutal rapist has begged for him to be kept behind bars after being told he could be freed early.
Evil Jerry McMurray battered and abused seven women at various locations in Fife between January 1997 and July 2013.
McMurray was handed a life sentence in 2015, with a punishment part of eight-and-a-half years. That means he is now eligible for parole.
Now one of his victims, Heather Ratcliffe, has bravely waived her right to anonymity to demand he is kept in jail.
She said: “When I was told he was eligible to apply for parole last year, all of the fear I felt came rushing back.
“I’ve had a few years of peace, knowing he was locked up, but now all the anxiety and fear has surfaced again.
“Why should we, his victims, be living in fear of this monster roaming the streets again when we were told he was going to prison for life?
“Now I’m trying to find out if he’s actually applied and been refused or if he’s planning to be free anytime soon.”
Heather was repeatedly raped by McMurray when she was just 17. She was held prisoner by him for four months and only escaped his clutches after piecing together a smashed mobile phone to call for help.
Even after he was jailed, he tormented his victims with a series of poison pen letters – including one to the Daily Record – protesting his innocence and accusing the women of “making up stories”.
Heather, who suffers from post traumatic stress as a result of her ordeal, added: “At the start of the year, I realised it was 2023 and the year he could be free even though the judge at his trial said he may never be released.
“I am signed up to the Victim Notification Scheme and they said he was eligible from December 31, 2022. I find myself looking out my window and
Around 220 people have been waiting longer than 12 months for healthcare treatment in Dumfries and Galloway – with the numbers rising every week.
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