A distraught victim of domestic abuse is now living in fear after a court ordered her husband to be freed from jail four months early as he launches an appeal.
Linda Miller, 48, was in tears when she spoke to the Record yesterday to say husband Kevin, who “terrifies” her, has been released and is not subject to electronic tagging or any curfew.
After his release, Miller sparked fear in Linda by posting on Facebook a picture of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger with the words: “I’m back.”
Arnie coined the phrase” “I’ll Be Back,” in his Terminator movies.
Linda said: “I don’t feel safe. I’m terrified to leave the house. What is the point of going through the ordeal of going to court when the sentence is meaningless?”
Police visited her to break the news and to provide her with an alarm to be used if Miller, who she is divorcing, approaches her.
A five-year order not to harass Linda is still active but would be open to challenge if his appeal succeeded.
Miller, 50, was sentenced last year to 34 months for assaulting and stalking Linda and would have been freed in mid-October after serving half his sentence.
But a judge granted him leave to appeal against conviction and sentence and a plea to free him pending his appeal was accepted on Tuesday.
Linda said last night: “The police explained when they provided the alarm that interim liberation gives him greater freedom.
“He is not tagged, he’s not subject to a curfew and can roam around freely.
“He’s also been allowed to use our home address as his bail address, when I am just waiting for lockdown to end to be able to sell it and help me get the divorce completed.
"Everything is in his favour.”
Linda, who had written to the authorities in advance of the decision to free her ex, pleading with them not to release him, was also angry police had not been notified of the move to free him.
She added: “If I had not found out about it and told the police, they’d have had no idea.”
Miller’s legal team, which has won the first stage in the process, did not respond to a request for comment.
Dr Marsha Scott, chief executive of Scottish Women’s Aid said: “The release of perpetrators of domestic abuse – on appeal or otherwise – is always of concern to us.”
