Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Crown Office

6 August 2009

HMA v Derek Ferguson

At the High Court in Glasgow Derek Ferguson was today convicted of the murder of Steven Pettigrew in Airdrie on 1 April 2005. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and the judge imposed a punishment part of 18 years during which the accused will not be able to apply for parole.

Ferguson was initially convicted of this murder after a first trial on 24 November 2005. This conviction was overturned on appeal. The Crown then sought a retrial.

Speaking after the verdict, Janet Cameron, Area Procurator Fiscal for Lanarkshire, said:

"Derek Ferguson killed Steven Pettigrew when, completely unprovoked, he stabbed him in the back. It has always been our position that this was murder, and that the interests of justice demanded that Derek Ferguson be tried and convicted of the crime of murder.

"That is why we sought a retrial and again prosecuted him for this crime. This verdict shows that we will not relent in ensuring that those guilty of serious crime are brought to justice.

"I would like to pay tribute to the determination of all those involved in this case. I now hope that the family of Steven Pettigrew can begin to rebuild their lives after what can only have been a long and distressing ordeal for them."

Notes for Editors

1. On 24 November 2005, at the High Court in Edinburgh, Derek Ferguson was convicted by a majority verdict of the murder of Steven Pettigrew.

2. On 25 November 2008 the Appeal Court held that the verdict against Derek Ferguson could not stand. This was on the grounds that the trial judge had misdirected the jury by failing to instruct them that it was open to them to return a verdict of culpable homicide.

3. The Crown thereafter had the decision to either request a retrial for the crime of murder or move the court to substitute a verdict of culpable homicide. After explaining the options to the family of Steven Pettigrew, the Crown took the decision to apply for a retrial for the murder. This application was granted by the court resulting in the trial in respect of which the verdict was returned today.

4. The COPFS Victim Information and Advice service (VIA) have kept the family of Steven Pettigrew fully informed of the progress of this case.

5. The case was prosecuted by a Senior Advocate Depute. The jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty of murder.

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