Murder victim’s dad tells pupils of knife danger

Jun 30 2009 by Cameron Hay, Paisley Daily Express

THE dad of a man who was brutally stabbed to death went back to school to teach children a vital lesson about the dangers of carrying a blade.

John Muir was left devastated two years ago when his youngest son Damian was murdered just yards from his home.

Since then, Mr Muir has been campaigning to raise awareness about the dangers of Scotland’s knife culture.

He is the figurehead of the Damian’s Law campaign which aims to put pressure on the Government to bring in tougher sentences for knife offenders and those who carry deadly blades.

And Mr Muir took time out to talk to Third Year pupils at Park Mains High School in Erskine about his experiences.

He said: “The public has backed me 100 per cent, so I now need the Scottish Government to do the same, instead of saying ‘I’ll get back to you.’ ”

Mr Muir also talked about the support he has received from the family of tragic schoolboy Ben Kinsella, who was stabbed to death in London.

After the talk, the Park Mains High pupils vowed to sign Mr Muir’s online petition and place posters around the school to warn their peers about the dangers of knife crime.

They also plan to speak to the Renfrewshire representative in the Scottish Youth Parliament about the issue.

Damien, 34, was stabbed repeatedly in a random and unprovoked knife attack in Greenock in July 2007.

He was making his way home from his football club’s end-of-season awards presentation evening.

His attacker approached to ask him the time. Damian was then subjected to a vicious and frenzied assault in which he was stabbed eight times.

Seven stab wounds were to his back as he attempted to make his escape.

A 21-year-old man later admitted murdering Damien at the High Court in Edinburgh and was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 15 years in jail.

Last year, a total of 162,624 people were targeted, stopped and searched by Strathclyde Police officers and 2,389 blades were found – an average of more than six per day.

Knife crime is nearly four times more common in Scotland than in England and Wales.

For more information about Mr Muir’s campaign, log on to the website at www.damianslaw.com