Robert Mone

Case record: Robert Mone

Background

Robert Francis Mone was born in 1948. He grew up with his parents and two sisters in Dundee. He claimed to have had a dysfunctional home life and a traumatic childhood. In 1964, he was expelled from St John's RC High School.

He joined the Gordon Highlanders and served with them in West Germany. He returned to Dundee with depression and began to drink heavily.

The offence

On 1 November 1967, Mone, armed with a shotgun, entered a girls' needlework class at St John's School and subjected the 14- and 15-year-old pupils and their pregnant teacher, Nanette Hanson, to a 1½-hour ordeal. He shot Hanson dead, raped one girl, and sexually assaulted another.

Mone’s motive was apparently revenge for being expelled from the school three years prior. He was never convicted of Nanette’s murder; he was found to be insane and unfit to plead.

In 1976, Mone broke out of Carstairs Hospital with fellow inmate and lover Thomas McCulloch. During the breakout, they murdered another inmate and a male nurse. The breakout also involved the killing of a police officer before they were recaptured.

In November 1976, Mone and McCulloch broke out of Carstairs and embarked on a killing spree. They killed nurse Neil McLellan, patient Iain Simpson, and PC George Taylor, and left two workmen injured. Mone killed PC George Taylor with an axe while McCulloch killed a male nurse and a patient.

Investigation

Mone was found to be insane after the 1 November 1967 school attack and was sent to the State Hospital for Scotland and Northern Ireland in Carstairs.

Arrest

Mone was recaptured after the 1976 breakout from Carstairs.

Trial

Mone was not convicted of Nanette Hanson’s murder because he was found insane and unfit to plead and was sent to Carstairs.

In 1976, after the breakout, Mone and McCulloch were convicted of murder. The record states that they were jailed without limit of time and that they and McCulloch “used European human rights law to win the right to apply for parole after 30 years.”

Sentencing

In February 1977, Lord Dunpark made legal history at the High Court in Glasgow by handing down Scotland’s first “natural life” sentences to the pair.

The record also states that in 2002 Mone was ordered to serve a minimum of 25 years when a judge reviewed the sentence under new laws prompted by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The record further states that he used human rights law to get his sentence cut to 25 years.

Appeals

Mone used European human rights law to win the right to apply for parole after 30 years.

Outcome

Mone remained in custody, “for now.” The parole board gave him the green light in December 2006 to begin the process that could see him freed in 2009.

The record states that he was allowed out for a day trip to Crieff in July 2007 as part of preparation for freedom. In September 2007, it emerged that Mone would soon be sent to an open prison—Noranside, near Forfar—as he prepared for release.

Aftermath

Mone complained in October 1977, in a letter to his dad, that he had been held in solitary confinement for 10 months and said he would take his case to the European Commission on Human Rights.

In May 1981, Mone staged a rooftop jail protest.

In December 1992, Mone complained that he had become a “stateinduced junkie” due to sleeping tablets and being in jail so long.

In February 1995, Mone got another six months added to his life sentence for attacking fellow prisoner Joe Connor with boiling water.

The record states that in May 2002 Mone changed his name to James Smith to prepare for release.

In October 2012, the record described Mone as working as a privileged “passman,” cleaning bosses’ offices and scrubbing toilets in Glenochil prison’s Abercrombie Hall. The record states that he believed his new job would help set him on the path to freedom.

In July 2007, an MSP called for a “major review” of the release of violent prisoners after Mone was allowed out of jail for a day.

People and roles

• Robert Francis Mone — offender; convicted murderer; spree killer
• Nanette Hanson — pregnant teacher; victim killed during the 1 November 1967 school attack
• Thomas McCulloch — fellow inmate and lover; convicted murderer with Mone
• Neil McLellan — nurse; victim killed during the 1976 breakout
• Iain Simpson — patient; victim killed during the 1976 breakout
• PC George Taylor — police officer; victim killed during the 1976 breakout
• Joe Connor — fellow prisoner attacked by Mone with boiling water
• Marion Young — nurse described as an acquaintance who went into the classroom to talk to Mone during the siege

Victims

• Nanette Hanson — one
• One girl — rape during the 1 November 1967 siege
• Another girl — sexual assault during the 1 November 1967 siege
• Neil McLellan — one
• Iain Simpson — one
• PC George Taylor — one
• Two workmen — injured during the 1976 breakout

Places

• Dundee — Mone’s upbringing and the location of the 1 November 1967 school attack
• St John's RC High School (St John's RC Secondary) — Mone’s expulsion in 1964 and the school connected to the 1 November 1967 siege
• St John's School — the girls’ needlework class where Mone entered on 1 November 1967
• State Hospital for Scotland and Northern Ireland in Carstairs (Carstairs) — where Mone was sent after being found insane in January 1968 and where he later escaped
• Glasgow — the High Court in Glasgow where “natural life” sentences were handed down in February 1977
• Perth Prison — where Mone was moved in June 1977
• Peterhead — where McCulloch was sent in June 1977
• Glenochil prison’s Abercrombie Hall — where Mone was described as working in October 2012
• Crieff, Perthshire — where Mone was allowed out on special escorted leave in July 2007
• Noranside, near Forfar — open prison to which he was expected to be sent as of September 2007
• HMP Shotts — where the record states he was transferred two years before July 2007
• Craiginches jail in Aberdeen — where the record states Mone senior was knifed to death

Timeline

• 1 November 1967 — Mone carried out a school attack at St John’s, killing pregnant teacher Nanette Hanson; he raped one girl and sexually assaulted another.
• January 1968 — Mone was found to be severely schizophrenic and not fit to plead at trial; he was declared insane and sent to Carstairs.
• 1976 — Mone broke out of Carstairs with Thomas McCulloch; they embarked on a killing spree and murdered Neil McLellan, Iain Simpson, and PC George Taylor before being recaptured.
• February 1977 — Lord Dunpark sentenced Mone to life in prison with a “natural life” sentence.
• June 1977 — Mone was moved to Perth Prison while McCulloch was sent to Peterhead.
• October 1977 — Mone complained in a letter to his father that he had been held in solitary confinement for 10 months and said he would take his case to the European Commission on Human Rights.
• May 1981 — Mone staged a rooftop jail protest.
• December 1992 — Mone complained he had become a “stateinduced junkie” due to sleeping tablets and being in jail so long.
• February 1995 — Mone got another six months added to his life sentence for attacking fellow prisoner Joe Connor with boiling water.
• May 2002 — Mone used human rights law to get his sentence cut to 25 years and changed his name to James Smith to prepare for release.
• December 2006 — the parole board gave Mone the green light to begin the process that could see him freed in 2009.
• July 2007 — Mone was allowed out for a day trip to Crieff, Perthshire.
• September 2007 — it emerged Mone would soon be sent to the open prison Noranside, near Forfar.
• October 17, 2012 — the record stated Mone was working as a privileged “passman” in Glenochil prison’s Abercrombie Hall.

Other details

The record described Mone as “training for freedom” and stated that he could be out within 18 months.

The record included quoted statements from former pupils about Nanette Hanson’s actions during the siege:

• Diane Martin said: “All the time, she was trying to calm him down and get him to release us. She never stopped trying to protect us.”
• Elizabeth Clark added: “We heard Nan pleading with him to let us go and to keep her as a hostage instead. “She was the bravest person I have ever met. We owe our lives to her for keeping so calm.”
• Anne D’Arcy recalled: “We saw a teacher crying with her head in her hands at the hospital and found out that Nan was dead. I was devastated. She was brave that day.”

The record quoted Brother Bede:

• Brother Bede said after the tragedy: “Nanette is a heroine, a martyr who died for these children. It was due to her courage that a worse tragedy didn't follow.”

The record quoted Nanette Hanson’s husband:

• Guy left a tribute with the message: “In loving memory and with thanks for seven months of happiness and everlasting love. “From a loving husband and friend. Dear Nanette.”

The record also quoted an MSP and Scottish Prison Service position:

• Liz Smith told the BBC Scotland news website: “I was appalled when I heard this story. I think the public has got every right to be concerned about this.”
• Liz Smith said: “The fact of the matter remains that he was a notorious killer with a very serious background and I worry about the prospect of that kind of person wandering around our streets without proper supervision. “I think that is a matter of great public concern and it is issues like this that bring question marks over some aspects of the Scottish justice system.”
• A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service refused to comment on individual cases, but said: “We cannot comment on individual prisoners."

The record stated that rehabilitation course took place and that Mone was allowed out on special escorted leave in Crieff as part of preparation for freedom.