A thug who kicked a defenceless woman in the head walked free from court as a sheriff launched a thinly-veiled attack on Scotland’s justice system.
Kirstie Garvie, 30, was knocked unconscious and left lying in the street when total stranger Scott Miller, 32, kicked her in the head before running off.
But Miller, 32, of Perth, was ordered to carry out 210 hours of unpaid work in the community after he admitted assaulting Kirstie in the city in October last year.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis said: “In days gone by this offence would almost certainly have resulted in a custodial sentence, and one which – if challenged before a higher court – would have been supported.
“Times have changed, I say no more than that.”
The attack took place at the Half A Tanner pub in Perth after Kirstie threw a glass of water over people who were with Miller.
Perth Sheriff Court heard he kicked her on the head, knocking her unconscious, and then made off.
A second charge of being responsible for knocking his victim out of the pub was dropped by the Crown.
Pauline Cullerton, defending, said Miller “bitterly regrets” his actions and had lost his job.
