In an exclusive interview to mark the fifth anniversary of his son’s death, Fife anti-knife crime campaigner Alan McLean tells Michael Alexander about his family’s on-going heartache as they continue their fight for justice.
Standing next to his son Barry’s grave in Burntisland Cemetery, 53-year-old Alan McLean has tears in his eyes as he reflects on the memories of the boy he lost to knife crime five years ago.
“No parent should die before their child,“ he says with quiet dignity, tenderly wiping down the spotless headstone which carries the moving inscription ‘Gone from our home. But not from our hearts’.
Alan and his family have been “to hell and back” since that terrible day on May 28 2011 when 27-year-old Barry was killed.
The ex-firefighter and his wife Tina were babysitting their then seven-month-old grandson Connor at home in Burntisland when they received a phone call from their youngest son Craig to say that Barry, an electrician, had been stabbed a few streets away.
“We just couldn’t believe it,“ says Alan with a sigh.
“We went round to the house where all this had happened, and our world just fell apart.”
Alan says he and his wife are still haunted by the image of their son lying bleeding on the floor.
“I physically had to help a paramedic try and save Barry,“ Alan recalls, his voice breaking with emotion. “I had to try and stem this six inch wound until the paramedic got a line in to him. I was shouting and screaming and praying to God for him to survive. What’s a parent meant to do?
“I think Barry died when we were on our knees trying to save him. No parent should go through this,“ he continues, his eyes again filling with tears.
“I’m his dad and I couldn’t even save him. There was nothing I could do. …”
Barry, a former pupil of Burntisland Primary and Balwearie High School, left behind his baby son Connor, and partner Jennifer, when he died.
His killer, Sean Kitchener, admitted “poking” Barry with a kitchen knife but made a plea of self-defence during the 12-day trial at Edinburgh High Court in August 2012. A jury, including one member who made headlines for “falling asleep” during the case, cleared him of murder by the smallest majority and Kitchener walked free.
With no right of appeal, the McLean family have been campaigning since for harsher penalties against knife crime. They organised several high profile ‘Ditch the Knife, Cherish Life’ anti-knife crime marches, backed by the “very supportive” police, who told them before the trial it would surely be a “watertight case”.
Last year Alan even took his campaign to the Scottish Parliament’s petitions committee. Criticising the current system for selecting jurors as a “lottery”, which made it possible for “incompetent” people to be chosen, he called for the introduction of a suitability test. Despite being told this would undermine the Scottish judicial system, he continues pushing for judges to be allowed to refer “perverse acquittal” jury verdicts to the appeal court for review.
Barry’s sister Lisa, now 27, has also kept a focus by visiting numerous Fife schools, pleading with pupils to avoid the “devastation” her family have felt, urging children to “ditch the knives.”
But behind closed doors, Alan and Tina, 54, endure a daily struggle of “emptiness and pain”. Alan says the last five years have taken a “massive toll” on their health. Birthdays, Christmases, Father’s Day and other family events can never be celebrated the same because their son is no longer there. All they have is memories and photos.
They even recently moved house because from their old property they could see the building where Barry was killed – a constant reminder of what happened. One consolation is that their new home is closer to Barry’s grave which they tend every week.
Yet at the same time they are grateful for their grandson Connor, now 5, who regularly stays over and looks “more and more like Barry” as each year passes.
“He knows his daddy is in heaven and a ‘bad man’ put him there, “says Alan, adding that Connor’s mum Jennifer has “moved on” and now has a new partner.
Alan says the support from the wider Burntisland community has been “fantastic”. The local pipe band have even created an annual ‘Barry McLean’ trophy in honour of the town’s lost son.
To mark the anniversary of his death, a group of family and friends will today gather at Barry’s graveside to pay their respects and release balloons.
And yet the heartache is always there. Alan says it doesn’t matter where he and his wife go or what they do, Barry is always in their thoughts.
“Next Saturday is going to be particularly difficult, “ adds Alan. “Our youngest son Craig is getting married and Barry would have been his best man. It’ll be a day of mixed emotions.”
It’s been a tough time. But to his credit, Alan manages to retain his dignity.
He adds: “I could have gone round straight after the killing and petrol bombed that guy’s house. But what would that achieve?
“This whole thing made me bitter, but bitter in a positive way. We need to get changes in the law to protect other people who go through things like this.
“Why should we have our son stolen from us when someone who made the wrong choice to lift a knife and use it is still walking free? Why do we not have the rights of an appeal process yet a criminal does?
“When something like this happens, there’s not enough help out there for people.
“I know because I’ve met so many families that have been affected by knife crime.
“It won’t bring Barry back, but I don’t want anyone else to go through what we are going through. That’s why we need to keep fighting for justice.”
