Jury sent out on trial of man accused of plotting to kill Scots lawyer
dailyrecord.co.ukThe jury has been sent out in the trial of a man accused of plotting to kill a prosecutor.Martin Ready, 41, denies charges of attempting to conspire to murder Darren Harty, 37, between May 29 2021 and September 15 2022 by setting up cryptocurrency accounts, using a site on the dark web, paying £5,071.24 in Bitcoin, and instructing Mr Harty be shot and where he could be found.Ready has lodged a special defence of lacking criminal responsibility during a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
The court has heard the men knew each other from a pub in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, owned by Mr Harty’s family.Giving evidence, Ready claimed he believed he was Jesus in autumn 2021, and suffered a relapse in January 2022.He admitted he knew murder was illegal but told the court he believed his actions would expose organised crime.Ready said he chose Mr Harty because of his connection with the pub, rather than due to personal issues, the court heard.Defending, Brian McConnachie KC said: “From your point of view, what would that achieve?”Ready said: “I felt that if Darren had been killed it would turn on his links to organised crime.”Prosecutor Erin Campbell said: “Can I suggest that you thinking you were Jesus was a running joke?”Ready said: “No.”He said: “At the time, I genuinely believed I was Jesus and that the actions I took were to expose the criminality I had been subjected to.”Ms Campbell said: “At the time you were on (the dark web) you took steps to conceal your identity.
You arranged a third party to do it. You considered issues such as alibi and a point with few witnesses which was not covered by CCTV.
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