MURDER in Scotland is defined as an intent to kill or an act of wicked recklessness.

Mark Bonini, 27, was found guilty yesterday of murdering two-year-old Andrew Morton because of the latter.

Paul McBride QC, his defence counsel, argued that the shooting of the toddler was an accident, not murder, and asked the jury to find him guilty of a lesser charge of culpable homicide. He said that to treat the killing as murder was a "step too far".

But Sean Murphy QC, the prosecutor, told the jury that to fire an air rifle in the direction of a child's head indicated that Bonini's mind was as wicked and depraved as the mind of a deliberate killer.

Chris Gane, professor of Scots law at Aberdeen University, said premeditation is not required for a murder conviction north of the border.

"The typical murder in Scotland is of someone who goes out with a knife, has too much to drink and acts in a very violent way which presents enormously serious risks to other people, " he said.

"Premeditation has never been part of the law on murder in Scotland, but someone does have to behave in a wickedly reckless way which indicates that they really don't care if someone lives or dies."

DerekOgg QC, chairman of the Faculty of Advocates Criminal BarAssociation, added: "It is very difficult for a jury to look into someone's mind at the time they killed someone to see whether they intended for them to die.

"Scots law does not require there to be premeditation. In a way this is to save society from itself and avoid people saying, 'I did not mean it'. Firing a lethal or potentially lethal weapon into a crowd of people, especially where there are children, indicates a disregard for whether people live or die.

"Culpable homicide is an act that no-one could have imagined would result in death, for example punching someone who falls into something else and dies from other injuries."

Mr McBride, who described the trial as "harrowing", told the jury:

"This is no murder.

This is a killing - an accident forwhich (Bonini) bears criminal responsibility.

"There is no evidence of deliberately firing at Andrew's head, but there is evidence of a man taking pot shots out of a window and behaving like a twit."

The jury disagreed and found Bonini guilty of murder by a majority.