Sorry if this was already posted. I ran across this article or something similar a few days back but can't remember where I saw it. It may have been on this board.
What is going on with the knives anyway? And why is Scotland considered any more "hard-core" than the rest of the UK?

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http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Depraved-killer-stabbed-victim-.3912736.jp
Depraved killer stabbed victim 80 times - then posed with body

By Lucinda Cameron
A TEENAGER who stabbed a man 80 times in a frenzied attack then posed for a photo by the dead body was branded "depraved" by a judge yesterday.
Stephen Price, 19 – who was branded a "monster" by his own father – was detained for life and told he must serve at least 15 years behind bars before he is considered for parole.

He admitted murdering Scott Burgess, 24, at the victim's home in Paisley, Renfrewshire, between 23 August and 6 September last year.

Sentencing Price at the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Brodie told him the attack showed "a gross level of depravity". He said: "You planned to assault Scott Burgess in his own flat and got entry for that purpose.

"Once in the flat, you locked the door to prevent escape.

"You carried out a very violent and prolonged attack on an unarmed man with no provocation and, as far as I can make out, no reason whatsoever.

"Your immediate reaction was self-congratulation – you were photographed holding a knife in the presence of the deceased."

Karen Duncan, 17, was sentenced to seven years after admitting the culpable homicide of Mr Burgess and attempting to defeat the ends of justice. Her sister Irene Duncan, 18, who also admitted attempting to defeat the ends of justice, was sentenced to 27 months in a young offenders institution.

The court heard that Karen Duncan twice struck Mr Burgess with a screwdriver during the attack. She and her sister admitted trying to defeat the ends of justice by destroying evidence and moving the body.

The judge said he had regard to the trio's difficult backgrounds and the fact they had been drinking on the night in question, but that was no excuse.

Last night, Scott's mother, Ann Burgess, 46, condemned the sentence and said she was haunted by the image of her son's brutal death.

The mother of seven said: "I came to court for justice for my son, but I didn't get any. That animal Price will only be in his 30s when he gets out. My Scott is gone for ever and doesn't have the chance of a new life."

Price's father, James, labelled him a "monster" and said he had reported him to police after he told him he had "done a guy in".

The killer's mother said she was devastated by what had happened and insisted the victim's family deserved answers.

Helen Price, 37, who had raised the killer since he was a toddler, told how her son had broken her heart. She and her mother, Betty Cunningham, a former provost, brought up Price after his real mother fled to England when he was a baby.

She said: "I have to face up to the fact that he killed that boy.

"He tells me that he can remember some of what he did but not all of it. Stephen has to give the family answers, and that is what I am asking him to do."

Mrs Price said Scott's family deserved to know exactly what had happened.

She added: "My heart goes out to Scott's family, and they deserve answers from Stephen.

"I think Stephen and the girls targeted him because he was quiet. I never thought my son could do something like this."

Lord Brodie told Price that he would have been sentenced to at least 20 years before he could apply for parole if he had not pleaded guilty early.

Karen Duncan was sentenced to 22 months for trying to defeat the ends of justice, and given an extended sentence on the culpable homicide charge. She will serve five years and three months in custody and will then be monitored for three years on her release. Irene Duncan will be detained for 27 months and then be monitored for 12 months on her release.

Both women were told they would have faced longer sentences if they had not pleaded guilty.

VIOLENCE CLAIMS QUARTER MORE LIVES
SCOTLAND'S "booze and blades" culture has been underlined by a sharp rise in killings.

Violence, much of it using a knife, claimed 119 lives in 2006-7 – over one-quarter more than the previous year.

The most common method of killing during the past ten years in Scotland has been with a sharp instrument such as a knife.

In 2006-7, a knife or other sharp instrument was used in the killing of 54 victims (45 per cent) – more than three times as many homicides as the second most common method, hitting and kicking.

Police say boys and young men in Scotland aged ten to 29 are five times more likely to suffer a violent death than those in England and Wales.

Experts believe knife crime in Scotland could be up to five times higher than official statistics suggest.

Figures published last year showed that over the previous 12 months, 544 knife victims were hospitalised in Glasgow and 1,170 across Scotland. However, according to Dr Michael Sheridan, a senior registrar at Glasgow's Yorkhill hospital, at least 3,000 people are treated for stab wounds every year in Greater Glasgow alone.

In December Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary, launched a ten-year plan to combat crime related to Scotland's "hard man" culture.