Scottish parliament scraps legal verdict of ‘not proven’ | Scotland
The Scottish “undisputed” decision – a global legal anomaly, which was thought to be a significant lower conviction for rape and sexual assault, has been abolished.
The MSPs said that the Justice Secretary Angela Constance puts victims and witnesses in the heart of a modern and fair justice system. ”
The abolition of the proven – a third option for juries that dates back to the 18th century and acquitted a defendant but stopped finding them guilty – is known by the campaignist known as Miss M to give back their voices to the survivors and their families ”.
Miss M launched his campaign against the decision in Guardian in 2018 and found a criminal case against the man he accused of rape during a university fresh week.
He said: “We all talked about how harm this decision is. Today we rested and the improvements in the legal system will make it more fair and clearer.”
In 2022-23, the undisputed decision constituted 61% of rape compared to a total of 22% for all criminal offenses and tried rape acquittal. Knowing that another sacrifice of rape will not experience what I need to go through after my criminal case has ended, the reason I invest a lot of time and energy in this campaign. ”
The last vote of the Scottish government Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform Law Considering more than 160 changes, he saw that the bill passed to 46 with 71 votes after a long debate.
Constance, MSPs on Wednesday afternoon, the jury process requires a two -thirds majority for conviction, an expert sexual criminal court and rape complaints in Scottish law for life -long anonymity right (Scottish legal time for complaints) to support the bill to come together, “he said.
He said: “By changing culture, process and practice throughout the system, the rights of the defendants will continue to be protected, while helping to ensure that the victims are heard, supported, protected and treated with compassion.”
The bill will also establish a victim and witness commissioner and will provide an automatic right for independent legal representation, financed by the public to oppose the applications asking questions about their previous sexual past.
However, the Shadow Justice Secretary, former Liam Kerr, told the Holyrood Chamber that the bill “missed a lot of chances to do better”. Authorized, Scottish conservatives after establishing an investigation into the gangs of gangs in Scotland, “semi -cooked” voted against the latest bill and the parole board of the murderers to think about what the victims of the “no body” suggestions, he said.
Rape crisis Sandy Brindley, General Manager of Scotland, praised the “many positive steps aki in the new law, but reiterated the“ serious concerns öz about the increase in the majority of the jury. “Research shows a reluctance to condemn rape cases and deep -rooted prejudices about sexual violence affect public attitudes and jury decision recruitment every day. The majority of an increasing jury will undoubtedly make the struggle of the survivors even more difficult.”
. The Faculty of Lawyer and the Scottish Law Association warned that the increase in an increase from a simple majority to two -thirds and how it would act with the unproven removal.
