Skip to main contentSkip to navigation Close dialogue1/1 Next image Previous image Toggle captionSkip to navigation The final vote on the Scottish government’s victims, witnesses and justice reform bill saw after a lengthy debate in Holyrood considering over 160 amendments Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA View image in fullscreen The final vote on the Scottish government’s victims, witnesses and justice reform bill saw after a lengthy debate in Holyrood considering over 160 amendments Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA Scottish parliament scraps legal verdict of ‘not proven’Third option for juries – blamed for country’s lower conviction rates for rape and sexual assault – abolished The Scottish verdict of “not proven” – a global legal anomaly thought to be a key factor in the country’s significantly lower convictions rate for rape and sexual assault – has been abolished.MSPs agreed to scrap the unique Scottish verdict as they voted through a series of major changes that Angela Constance, the justice secretary, said “put victims and witnesses at the heart of a modern and fair justice system”.The abolition of not proven – a third option for juries that dated back to the 18th century and which acquitted an accused person but stopped short of finding them not guilty – was welcomed by the campaigner known only as Miss M as “giving survivors and their families back their voice”.Miss M launched her campaign against the verdict in the Guardian in 2018 after winning a landmark civil action when the…
Published: September 17, 2025 6:08 pm
Source: The Guardian — Read original