HC Deb 28 February 1889 vol 333 c571
DR. R. MACDONALD (Ross and Cromarty)

asked the Lord Advocate whether he is aware that the man Hector Mackenzie, now lying in Inverness Gaol under sentence of death for a murder at Fort George, has always been looked on by his acquaintances as an imbecile; and, whether he was discharged from the Army as such, as also that his father and two uncles were of weak intellect?

THE LORD ADVOCATE

This case has received the careful consideration of the Secretary for Scotland. An investigation has been made, with the result that the Secretary for Scotland has felt himself justified in recommending Her Majesty to commute the sentence of death to one of penal servitude.