Father's anger at stab sentencing

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A father has described the eight month sentence handed down to a teenager who stabbed his son as "an embarrassment".

Willie Graham said he was astounded at the sentence given to William Kerr, 16, at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

Kerr admitted repeatedly stabbing David Graham, 17, in the canteen in Whitehill Secondary, Dennistoun on 13 September.

Mr Graham said he was shaking with anger when he heard the sentence. He said: "What sort of message does this sentence send out to the country?"

He said he arrived at court looking for justice but had not got it.

"Kerr will be out in four months but my son has to live with the scars and what happened to him for the rest of his life," he added.

"This boy came into school armed with a knife and attacked my son.

"I really am astounded by what has happened. In my eyes, the whole episode has been an utter joke."

'Fear and bravado'

Kerr, of Cranhill, stabbed his victim during a break at school when an argument broke out.

The court heard how Kerr was at no risk of reoffending

He inflicted a one centimetre stab wound to his chest, three wounds to his buttocks and a four centimetre cut to his hand.

An operation was needed to repair sliced nerves in his hand which left him with permanent scars.

Ruth Anderson, defending, said the offence had been out of character for a normally quiet and well mannered young boy.

She said: "It was out of character and was a result of fear and utter bravado."

Sheriff Craig Henry told Kerr: "You have conducted yourself impeccably since this incident and there is thought to be no risk of you re-offending.

"The difficulty is that this was a most serious offence rendered more so by the circumstances.

"Parents who send their children to school must be able to do so without worrying that they will be subjected to assaults with a knife."