February 1992:
Taxi driver Stephen McDermott, 27, is stabbed to death outside his home in the Nitshill area of Glasgow during a night of violence.
June 1992: John (McLay) McIntosh, 17, is sentenced to life for the murder of Mr McDermott.
March 1994: The appeal court refuses to allow additional evidence alleging Mr McIntosh's co-accused Stephen Harkins confessed to the murder to be heard. Lord McCluskey dissents.
December 1997: Then Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar refers the case to the Court of Appeal in a landmark ruling resulting in the evidence finally being considered.
April 2000: Lord Coulsfield dismisses the appeal, and questions the admissions, saying Harkins was regarded by others as "boastful, a nuisance and a person who was in the habit of indulging in bravado".
February 2013: Mr McIntosh tells the Herald he is preparing to launch a new legal bid to clear his name with the Glasgow-based Miscarriages of Justice group supporting him.
January 2014: Mr McIntosh takes his own life after telling supporters on Twitter he had "felt let down by the (legal) system".
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
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