Robert Francis Mone (born 1948) is a Scottish double murderer who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1977. In 1967 he shot a teacher at his old school, and in 1976 he and another man escaped from the

State Hospital The State Hospital (also known as Carstairs Hospital, or simply Carstairs) is a psychiatric hospital near the village of Carstairs Junction, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It provides care and treatment in conditions of high security for arou ...

Carstairs Carstairs (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Tarrais'') is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Carstairs is located east of the county town of Lanark and the West Coast Main Line runs through the village. The village is served by Carstairs ra ...

, killing three people in the process. He is Scotland's longest-serving prisoner.

Early life

Mone was born in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

and grew up with his parents and two sisters. He was bullied by his father and claims to have been raped by a family friend when he was 12. He became depressed when his grandfather died and lived with his grandmother for a while. In 1964, he was expelled from St John's High School. He then joined the

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

and served in the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located a ...

in Germany.

Murder of Nanette Hanson

On 1 November 1967 Mone, who was

absent without leave Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which a ...

from his army unit, and had been

drinking Drinking is the act of ingesting water or other liquids into the body through the mouth, proboscis, or elsewhere. Humans drink by swallowing, completed by peristalsis in the esophagus. The physiological processes of drinking vary widely among o ...

for days, entered a girls' needlework class at St John's wearing his uniform and armed with a

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...

. He held the 14- and 15-year-old pupils and their pregnant teacher, Nanette Hanson, captive for 90 minutes. He requested that an acquaintance - 18-year-old nurse Marion Young - be brought to the school. During the standoff, Mone

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

d one girl, sexually assaulted another, and shot at both women, but the gun misfired. Police brought Mone's grandmother who unsuccessfully asked him to stop. In 2017 a retired police officer claimed that a police

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

had Mone in his sights but was denied permission to shoot. Young and Hanson persuaded Mone to release the girls, but before giving himself up he shot Hanson in the back. She later died in hospital. On 23 January 1968 Mone was found to be insane and sent to the

. Young was awarded the

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in circ ...

and Hanson was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal. Mone's motive is assumed to be revenge for his expulsion from the school.

Escape from Carstairs

On 30 November 1976, Mone broke out of Carstairs with his lover and fellow patient Thomas McCulloch, who had killed over a dispute about getting too little butter in a restaurant. The two had planned the escape for six months and had assembled a rope ladder, weapons, fake ID and cash. They killed another patient, Ian Simpson, and a nursing officer, Neil McLellan, then climbed a barbed wire fence. They then killed a police officer, Constable George Taylor and stole his

panda car A panda car, or just panda, is a small or medium sized marked British police car. History of the term The term 'panda car' was first used to refer to black police cars with panels that had been painted white to increase their visibility. It wa ...

. Hospital authorities took 40 minutes to raise the alarm. Mone and McCulloch were captured near

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

in northern England, having changed to an Austin, after a high-speed chase down the A74. Four Scottish police vehicles were joined by reinforcements from

Cumbria Constabulary Cumbria Constabulary is the territorial police force in England covering Cumbria. As of September 2017, the force had 1,108 police officers, 535 police staff, 93 police community support officers, and 86 special constables. The force serves a ...

, and they forced the fugitives onto a slip road of the

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at t ...

where they crashed. Despite the police presence, they tried to seize a car that had stopped at the crash, before being restrained by police, three of whom were awarded the

Queen's Gallantry Medal The Queen's Gallantry Medal (QGM) is a United Kingdom decoration awarded for exemplary acts of bravery where the services were not so outstanding as to merit the George Medal, but above the level required for the Queen's Commendation for Braver ...

Prison

In early 1977 Mone pleaded guilty to the murder of Taylor, and McCulloch to all three murders. They were imprisoned for life, with a recommendation from Lord Dunpark that they never be released, on 31 March. In May 1981, Mone mounted a rooftop protest at his conditions in HMP Perth. Mone's father, Robert Christopher "Sonny" Mone, murdered his aunt and two other women in Dundee after his son's conviction. In 1983, years into his life sentence, Mone senior was stabbed to death in

Craiginches Prison HM Prison Aberdeen (formerly known as Craiginches) was a medium-security prison, located in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. The prison was managed by the Scottish Prison Service. Known as one of the most overcrowded prisons in Scotland, it had ...

by a fellow inmate. Mone junior had six months added to his sentence in 1995 for assaulting a fellow prisoner. In 2002 his sentence was reduced to 25 years under the provisions of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

(ECHR). In 2007, when he was allowed out on day release survivors of the 1967 incident, and politicians Jim McGovern and

David McLetchie David William McLetchie CBE (6 August 1952 – 12 August 2013) was a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 1999 to 2005. He was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh Pentlands co ...

, argued that Mone should never be released, with McLetchie saying that the ECHR had "crippled the justice system". He was sent back to high security in Glenochil Prison in 2008 following fears that he was planning another escape. McCulloch was released in 2013, but Mone remains in prison. While there, he has studied law and philosophy, and transcribed books into

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

. He is Scotland's longest-serving prisoner.

References

Citations Bibliography * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mone, Robert 1948 births 1967 murders in the United Kingdom 1976 murders in the United Kingdom 1995 crimes in the United Kingdom 20th-century Scottish criminals Gordon Highlanders soldiers Living people People acquitted by reason of insanity People detained in hospitals in the United Kingdom People from Dundee Scottish escapees Scottish spree killers Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Scotland Scottish rapists School killings in the United Kingdom

Early life

Murder of Nanette Hanson

Escape from Carstairs

Prison

See also

References