Scotland's controversial 'not proven' criminal verdict abolished

Scotland was the only country in the world where juries could decide to find someone guilty, not guilty, or not proven.

Now Holyrood has passed the landmark Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform Bill which removes the third verdict from the law books.

It is part of a legal restructure which aims to put victims of crime - particularly of sexual offences - at the heart of of the criminal justice system.

Campaigners had wanted to see the not proven verdict removed as they believed it contributed to low conviction rates in rape and other sexual offence cases.

Others fighting for the verdict to go said it was confusing for jurors and gives juries a “get-out” clause.

A study published in 2019 found removing the not proven verdict might incline more jurors towards a guilty verdict in finely balanced trials. It also highlighted inconsistent views on the meaning of not proven and how it differed from not guilty.

In the Holyrood chamber, Justice Secretary Angela Constance said that scrapping the verdict was "long overdue" and evidence arguing for the verdict's abolition went back "decades".

She added: "Let me speak directly to those watching online or joining us in the gallery - you have campaigned for many years for many of the reforms in this Bill. "While it will not lessen the pain you have gone through, I hope you will have a sense of pride and achievement you have brought about."

The Bill also introduces a new sexual offences court - so rape cases will no longer be heard in the High Court - and it changes the requirement for a simple majority of jurors to find an accused guilty, to a need for a two thirds majority.

Ms Constance said it will introduce "trauma-informed practice" across the system to avoid victims being "re-traumatised by the legal process" and will "protect the dignity of victims of sexual offences through an automatic lifelong right of anonymity".

The Bill also gives an automatic right to independent legal representation for complainers in sexual offence cases if an application is made in court to lead evidence of the complainer’s sexual history or character, and creates a legal right for victims in rape and serious sexual offences cases to access transcripts of the court proceedings free of charge.

It will also improve the Victim Notification Scheme and establish an independent Victims and Witnesses Commissioner for Scotland.

The legislation was passed by 71 votes to 46 with one abstention. SNP, Liberal Democrat and Scottish Green MSPs all supported the Bill, but Labour and Conservative MSPs voted against.

Ms Constance said: "This historic legislation will put victims and witnesses at the heart of a modern and fair justice system.

“By changing culture, process and practice across the system, it will help to ensure victims are heard, supported, protected and treated with compassion, while the rights of the accused will continue to be safeguarded.

“This legislation, which builds on progress in recent years, has been shaped by the voices of victims, survivors, their families and support organisations, and it is testimony to their tireless efforts to campaign for further improvement.

"I am grateful to those who bravely shared their experiences to inform the development of this legislation and pave a better, more compassionate path for others.”

The Scottish Conservatives said the flagship legislation was “a Victims’ Bill in name only”.

Justice spokesman Liam Kerr said his party had spelled out a series of key changes needed if they were to back it - but that "SNP MSPs had dismissed them."

He said they wanted the new Victims Commissioner to be able to "initiate an inquiry into grooming gangs in Scotland", and that the Bill could have delivered changes to parole to ensure a real "Suzanne’s Law" was implemented so "no body means no release".

Suzanne Pilley went missing in 2010 and while her body was never recovered her former partner David Gilroy was found guilty of her murder in 2012 and was sentenced to 18 years.

Mr Kerr said: “This half-baked bill sells the victims of crime desperately short.

“By ignoring many of the key demands of victims’ groups, the SNP have squandered the chance for a long overdue rebalancing of Scotland’s justice system.

“Our common-sense amendments would have given this legislation real teeth but, by rejecting them, the Nationalists have delivered a Victims’ Bill in name only.

“While we back the abolition of the not proven verdict, the SNP’s intransigence on a number of key issues meant we could not support this bill in its final form.”

Scottish Labour's justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill said "this has been the most difficult Bill" she had dealt with since sitting on Holyrood's justice committee.

She added: "I was not comfortable with the late amendments - I didn't understand all of what was trying to be achieved by them and that's because of the timing and that is not satisfactory.

"A lot of what the Bill is trying to achieve could be done without legislation, there are changes happening in culture already for the better, and trauma informed practice should be standard and that doesn't need legislation.

"But the real test will be whether this Bill will be the transformative change for victims promised, but so far all we've heard is the government asking us to trust it will - but there's no evidence."

She said: "One of the most traumatising things for victims is the delay in the system - it's what comes up all the time - but we haven't heard promises of extra resources and unless you fix the shortage of defence lawyers and make sure there's enough people to staff any new court this Bill will not adequately address delays.

"The sexual offences court is the flagship of the bill but it's just a sign over the door and we're not clear it will result in any real difference to what victims experience.

"But fundamentally I'm not in favour of taking rape out of the high court. It's one of the most heinous crimes there is and that's why it's heard in the high court."

One campaigner, Joe Duffy, who has fought for the abolition of the verdict for 33 years following the murder of his daughter Amanda, said: "It was a middle ground that shouldn't be there - you're either guilty or not guilty. You deserve that, one or the other.

"We've produced hundreds of thousands of signatures during our campaign. But for this to go the way to do, I'm absolutely delighted for everybody involved in the process.

"I was hoping it would happen in my lifetime. Thankfully, I've got there, and hopefully it helps other people."