Dumfries

by Todd, Ian

  William ‘Snappy’ Johnston…IQ ae a hunner and nineteen…above average intelligence. Similar diagnosis tae Gucci, bit no categorized as being as dangerous as his co-accused. While Doctor Henderson hid assessed Johnston as prone tae extreme violence tae achieve his ends, coupled wae being a habitual liar who demonstrated a lack ae empathy towards his victims, the difference in the level ae caution and risk regarding Johnston’s behavior and that ae Gucci’s, hid been the emotional aspect. According tae Doctor Henderson, Gucci’s lack ae empathy while being able tae display emotion marked him doon as far mair dangerous and lethal tae those unfortunate enough tae hiv been perceived tae hiv crossed him or who wurnae part ae his immediate social group and who happened tae unwittingly come intae contact wae him.

  Samuel ‘Silent’ Smith. No recorded IQ scoring. Efter taking the time tae read through his psychiatric profile a couple ae times, Fanny hid noted that there hid been a range ae diagnoses o’er the years relating tae whit the authorities believed wis wrang wae Samuel Smith. There appeared tae be nae consensus ae opinion, bit diagnoses by different psychiatrists at different times in his life hid included schizophrenia, psychosis and a Cluster A personality while suffering fae Schizoid Personality Disorder. The problem fur the authorities, the notes stated, wis that the only time they’d been able tae assess him and attempt tae respond tae his needs, hid been when Smith wis incarcerated fur some offence or other. Looking at the dates ae the psychiatric assessments, this wid’ve been as a juvenile while in remand homes in the middle ae the 1960s and as he became a teenager in Thistle Park. The third in-depth assessment, efter Smith hid been liberated fae Thistle park as a fifteen-year-auld in 1970, hid been in March 1971, while serving time wae Johnboy Taylor in borstal as a sixteen-year-auld. The Cluster A characteristics, evidenced in his psychiatric assessment back then, highlighted nae social skills, restricted emotional attachment and being perceived by his peers as an eccentric loner. Doctor Henderson hid also noted Gucci’s aggression when Smith’s name hid come intae conversation, she wis comforted tae note. Smith’s odd behavior and inability tae communicate wae her during her interview wae him hid certainly been visible. Interestingly, that diagnosis hid been made before Smith’s maist recent assessment by Doctor Henderson, efter Smith hid been sentenced tae five years. It hid also been Doctor Henderson that hid assessed Smith back in 1971 when him and Taylor hid been in Polmont fur resetting stolen goods. Doctor Henderson hid noo come up wae a different, mair contemporary assessment. Smith wis noo diagnosed as hivving whit wis assessed as a ‘Depersonalisation Disorder.’ Doctor Henderson’s assessment stated that Samuel Smith suffered fae recurring depersonalisation where he failed tae connect wae the people and the world he lived in. It wis as if he wis in a perpetual state ae oot-ae-body existence, detached fae his ain thoughts and emotions, while at the same time gaun through the motions ae everyday activity, bit no being able tae participate in anything gaun oan roond aboot him. This certainly made some sense tae Fanny fae whit she’d been able tae observe in the short space ae time he’d been sitting across fae her. It also tied in wae whit a few ae the prison officers hid reported back oan Smith in the prison observation book, that wis kept in the gatehoose fur staff starting and finishing their shifts. Wan ae the officers hid facetiously written that ‘The Mute’s oan another planet tae the rest ae us.’ Oddly, Doctor Henderson hid also stated that he believed that Samuel Smith wis fully aware ae his disorder, bit chose no tae address his symptoms and seek help. She also noted in the report that the trigger fur Depersonalisation Disorder wis probably caused by an extreme childhood trauma in those that suffered fae it. Although Doctor Henderson hid admitted that it hid been challenging tae communicate and interact wae Smith, he believed that Smith hid been traumatised as a child, either physically, emotionally or baith, by being abused while being under the care ae others who wur stronger or aulder than him at the time. If Samuel Smith did hiv a Depersonalisation Disorder, then there appeared tae be nae known medication or psychotherapy that could treat this type ae condition, according tae Doctor Henderson. Fanny wondered if Doctor Henderson wis aware ae the contradiction regarding Samuel Smith seeking help fur his condition and his statement aboot no known cure.

  Patrick McCabe. IQ ae a hunner and thirty and scored as highly intelligent, bit regarded as a straightforward, run ae the mill sociopath, despite a lack ae previous convictions or time served in approved school or borstal. In the great scheme ae things, his psychiatric assessment hid been actually quite normal by Dumfries Young Offenders Institution standards and wis in line wae a significant number ae the other YOs currently serving time in Dumfries.

  Oot ae the five files currently sitting oan her desk, Johnboy Taylor, fur some strange reason that she couldnae fathom, hid been the only wan that hidnae been assessed, diagnosed and subsequently categorised as hivving some sort ae personality disorder, although this wis based oan an assessment dating back tae 1971 when he wis in Polmont Borstal wae Smith. She’d noted the time-frame efter conviction ae the other boys. She assumed that Taylor hid missed his psychiatric assessment due tae being admitted tae Monklands General Hospital in Airdrie. She hidnae been surprised tae discover that his IQ ae a hunner and thirty wan scored him as hivving high intelligence as well, bit nothing compared tae Gucci.

  “Christ, he’s coming across as the sanest out of the five of them,” she said oot loud, shaking her heid in surprise. “How then, has he ended up being sentenced to the longest prison sentence ever handed down to a young offender in Scotland?” she asked her neat stack ae pencils oot loud.

  Despite Tony Gucci’s performance, none ae the boys hid really displayed any real hostility towards her. She wondered if she wis overreacting tae an issue that only existed in her ain heid? As the months and years hid passed, she thought she’d managed tae shed the feelings ae guilt, ae hivving done nothing, ae telling nowan, efter witnessing young teenage boys running the gauntlet between two lines ae staff, aw ermed wae batons and leather tawses, thrashing and clubbing those who wur thought tae hiv assisted Tony Gucci, Joe McManus, Samuel Smith and Johnboy Taylor tae abscond fae Thistle Park that snowy night, jist before Christmas in 1968. She pulled her hankie oot ae the sleeve ae her cardigan and blew her nose before transferring the files oan her desk tae the cabinet behind her, shutting the drawer and turning the key in the lock. A sense ae utter hopelessness came o’er her as she stood up, took her jaicket aff ae the coat peg, locked the office door behind her and heided towards the first gate beside the security station and the stairs that led doon in tae the gatehoose. The realisation that the files that she’d jist locked away in her cabinet a few moments earlier, hid contained absolutely nae evidence ae there ever hivving been any attempt tae address the complex mental health issues prevalent amongst the group ae boys that she’d spent hauf the day interviewing, despite the judicial authorities hivving hid ample time o’er the years tae dae so, shocked her. In eighteen months fae noo, Tony Gucci, William Johnston and Patrick McCabe wid be let loose tae wander aboot the streets ae Glesga unhindered, under nae supervision or restrictions whitsoever. Samuel Smith wid be released tae join them jist o’er a year later. Fae where Fanny wis staunin, waiting fur the officer behind the plate glass tae open the gate before accessing the steps beyond the second wan tae allow her doon in tae the gatehoose below, nowan wid be held tae account fur the awful things that she wis sure wid happen wance they wur back oan the streets. Despite whit she’d jist read, nowan seemed tae care. She’d talk tae Father Leonard. Maybe she wis jist overreacting because she’d crossed an emotional milestone and made it through tae the other side unscathed. She appreciated that she wis jist a tiny cog in a big machine and prayed that somewan, somewhere, wid hiv a safe pair ae hauns oan the tiller, who knew whit they wur daeing, because if she wis honest wae hersel, she certainly didnae.

  “There ye go, Fanny, hen,” the gatehoose officer said fae behind the green tinted, reinforced glass oan the ground flair, as she heard the familiar buzzing sound ae the door unlocking
tae allow her tae step through oot oan tae Terregles Street.

  She couldnae help smiling tae hersel as she thanked him, wondering where the hell William Johnston hid picked up the nickname ‘Snappy’ fae.

  “Good evening. My name is John Turney and these are the news headlines in Scotland tonight.

  Police have recovered the decomposed body of a man from the River Kelvin after it was discovered by an elderly couple out walking their dog. The body, which is thought to have been in the water for some considerable time, has not been identified. Police have refused to comment on reports that the wrists on the body were tied behind its back…

  Police have condemned as irresponsible the driver of a high-powered sports car that reached speeds in excess of over one hundred and fifty miles an hour in the early hours of this morning after being pursued through red traffic lights by police, along Great Western Road…

  Pupils are being given a chance to play in front of Her Majesty The Queen when she visits the City Chambers later in the year. An education spokesman said that the competition will be open to all secondary school orchestras in the city and a high number of entries are anticipated…

  The residents of a small village in Stirlingshire, Cambusbarron, are outraged, after Flora Conner, the mother of a convicted killer took out advertisement space on a billboard near the entrance to Stirling Castle, proclaiming her son’s innocence for the disappearance and murder of a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl on the 9th of November 1972. It was on a snowy evening that Ann Brown and her friend, Margaret Dunn…

  Domestic violence against women is on the increase in Scotland, and in Glasgow in particular, where Jill Shand, a hospital ward sister and violence against women campaigner claims the authorities are not taking the issue seriously enough, after forty-four-year-old Alexander Griffiths was sentenced to seven years in prison after admitting the culpable homicide of his partner of twenty three years. It was only after a charge of murder against Griffiths was reduced to culpable homicide by The Crown, that the jury found out that Griffith had been charged no fewer than eight times for assaulting his wife, going back as far as 1959. Griffiths who plead guilty to the reduced charge, claimed he and his partner had a stormy relationship and that she had pushed him too far one night in early June after claiming she had mixed dog food in with his favourite evening meal of mince and potatoes…”

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Johnboy smiled as he looked aboot the dining hall. Across in the queue at the serving hatch, he clocked Snappy wae a food tray in each haun. He didnae want Snappy tae catch him grinning in case he thought Johnboy wis taking the piss, which he wis. He swivelled further roond in his seat and looked across tae the entrance. Groups ae YOs wur arriving in batches, under escort, fae the different workshops. He noticed wee Ralph McCluskey fae Carntyne letting fly wae a sneaky swift greaser oot ae the side ae his mooth which landed oan the back ae the neck ae wan ae Robert The Beast’s table companions.

  “Yeow! Did ye clock that, sir?” Peter the Pervert howled, as he tried unsuccessfully tae scrape the globulous spit aff ae the back ae his neck wae his fingers.

  “Whit hiv Ah telt ye, Wilson? Jist ignore them and they’ll ignore you,” Ding-dong, wan ae the screws, who wis always permanently attached tae the wee clutch ae stoat-the-baws, advised.

  Alang wae Robert The Beast and Peter the Pervert, who wis daeing seven years fur raping two wee lassies while babysitting fur their maw, there wur two other beasts sitting there, avoiding any direct eye contact wae the growling YOs who hid tae pass them oan route fae the door tae the grub hatch. Joe the Rat, another child molester, alang wae his co-accused, a spotty-faced beast called Ian Fletcher, or Fletcher The Child Percher, as he wis called, hid been snatching weans aff ae the streets aw o’er the south side ae Glesga and oot as far as Clarkston, using Fletcher’s school teacher’s ma’s car, fur nearly two years before they’d been caught. They’d eventually goat charged wae snatching six snappers efter working oot a plea deal between their lawyers and the procurator fiscal, Glenda Metcalf. When the deal wis exposed by The Glesga Echo, the procurator fiscal hid claimed she didnae want the families tae suffer any mair than they hid by hivving tae relive their ordeal through appearing up at court and gieing evidence. The last ae Joe The Rat and Fletcher The Child Percher’s kidnapped weans hid been found trussed up in the boot ae their car when they wur stoapped by a polis squad car, gaun through a red light. Efter being deferred tae the High Court fur sentencing, the baith ae them hid been sentenced tae eight years each. The beasts wur aw well-protected, although o’er the past month or so, some ae the YOs hid goat a dig in here and there when the opportunity hid arisen. The Mankys hid only been oot ae the digger a few days and hid been settling in tae the monotony ae the sewing machine shoap efter being assessed as being capable ae operating a sewing machine, when Snappy’d hid his first run-in wae Robert the Beast. Johnboy, despite hivving arrived in Dumfries well efter them, hid joined them oan day wan. Like the seating arrangements in the dining hall, it hid only taken The Mankys ten minutes tae persuade the boys aroond aboot them tae shift aboot tae allow them tae be aw sitting thegither in the workshop. As ye went intae the machine shoap, there wur seven lines ae sewing machines, each wae six tae a row, facing the door. Aw the machines also faced oan tae the glass fronted office where the security screws could keep an eye oan the YOs while they, themselves, took turns tae go and sit oan their arses aw day, slurping tea and kidding each other oan that they’d an important task tae perform by watching YOs beavering away oan the machines. Oan the right haun side, running the length ae the wall as ye came in tae the shoap, three long tables hid been joined thegither lengthways tae make up the quality control area. There wis a big contract oan the go wae the Ministry ae Defence, so the machines wur aw gaun like the clappers fae first thing in the morning tae the end ae the day. Dumfries wis supplying the MOD wae ammunition bandoliers. It hid taken Johnboy aboot fifteen minutes tae work oot whit he wis supposed tae be daeing. Wance a YO made up twelve bandoliers, he hid tae take them across tae the quality control table and get them checked, before picking up a bundle ae cut-oot cloth shapes and starting oan another batch. This exchange process involved Stafford, wan ae the two permanent workshoap screws, who wore broon coats o’er their warder uniforms tae distinguish them fae the security screws, who spent their time, loitering aboot aw day, daeing sweet fuck aw because nowan wid speak tae them, and getting paid fur it. Stafford wid take oot a wee ammunition clip fae his coat pocket, which consisted ae four blank bullet cartridges welded thegither, and insert the bullets intae each ae the hauf dozen wee pouches that wur sewn intae the shoulder strap ae the bandolier. If the ammo clip slipped in…fine. If it didnae, the YO wis sent back tae stitch-pick oot whit they’d jist spent hauf the morning sewing thegither and start again. At the back ae the workshoap, sitting horizontally between the door oan the left, which lead intae the painting and decorating training shoap and a door oan the right, which lead through tae the joinery workshoap, another two long tables wur joined thegither and used as a cutting table fur cutting oot the shapes needed tae make up the bandoliers. Another screw in a broon coat, Bliss, managed that set-up. Bliss wis also in charge ae supervising Robert the Beast and his wee band ae merry stoat-the-baws. There wur always two permanent security screws hinging aboot up there tae make sure none ae the YOs oan the sewing machines came intae contact wae The Beastie Boys. Oan his second day in, Snappy hid sauntered o’er tae Stafford wae his first batch ae completed bandoliers, jist as King Beast hid been shifting a bundle ae cut cloth across tae the quality control tables. Snappy hid swiftly pushed The Beast backwards wae the palm ae his hauns, which hid sent him and his cut-oot cloth shapes flying, before three screws converged oan Snappy.