A convicted murderer who transitioned to a woman while serving a life sentence has been found to have had her criminal record erroneously wiped clean, prompting outrage and calls for urgent review of gender and justice protocols in Scotland.
Alexandria Stewart, formerly known as Alan Baker, is currently serving a 19-year sentence in HMP Greenock for the fatal stabbing of John Weir, a father of two. Stewart began identifying as a woman while behind bars and changed her name, leading to an administrative oversight that removed her previous convictions from official disclosure records.
The discrepancy was uncovered during a routine disclosure request by a solicitor involved in a prison-related legal matter. While conviction records for all other inmate witnesses were provided, Stewart’s appeared clean, revealing what critics have called a “terrifying example” of identity policies enabling serious offenders to obscure their pasts.
The revelation has sparked strong reactions from campaigners, legal experts, and politicians, who argue that the error exposes systemic vulnerabilities in Scotland’s justice and gender recognition systems.
Susan Smith of For Women Scotland condemned the incident as “a terrifying example of the sort of consequences which follow when people are allowed to lie about their sex,” warning that other offenders may have similarly taken advantage of gender self-identification policies. “Women and parents will be horrified to learn that these men may, even now, be out in the community and taking advantage of their whitewashed record,” she said.
Scottish Conservative MSP Sharon Dowey described the situation as either “an unacceptable blunder” or evidence of a broader problem. She called for immediate intervention from First Minister John Swinney to ensure that public bodies enforce the recent Supreme Court ruling that defines a person’s sex based on biology.
“This case represents a dereliction of duty by Police Scotland and the Crown Office,” Dowey said. “It lays bare again the stark reality of both the SNP’s soft-touch justice agenda, which panders to criminals, and their unlawful gender self-ID policy.”
Authorities have responded to the backlash. A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) confirmed that the error was corrected before the trial in question. “Although the initial witness check showed no previous convictions, on further inquiry by the Procurator Fiscal this was corrected prior to trial,” the spokesperson said, adding that discussions between agencies were ongoing to prevent future lapses.
Police Scotland also acknowledged the issue, stating that “work is ongoing to prevent something similar taking place.”
The incident has reignited debate over gender identity policies in the prison system and public records management, especially as concerns grow over male offenders seeking to transfer to women’s prisons or erase past convictions under the guise of a gender transition.
