Not proven verdict to be axed ‘in two years’ as SNP plans new bid to end corroboration
SCOTLAND’S controversial ‘not proven’ verdict could be scrapped within two years.
Government plans to abolish corroboration will also be revived following next year’s election.
Senior sources close to the Scottish cabinet have confirmed Ministers remain committed to the reforms to tackle, in particular, Scotland’s poor conviction rate for serious sexual crime and improve access to justice for victims.
Not proven is commonly associated with notorious murder cases where the public is left believing justice has not been done.
It has benefited known gangsters over the years. Charges of drug smuggling in 1998 and the attempted murder of a policeman 20 years earlier against Scottish crime godfather Thomas McGraw, who died in 2007, were both found not proven.
But it is most commonly found in sex crime prosecutions. The more serious the case, the more likely it is to result in a not proven verdict.
Juries are believed to use the verdict, which has exactly the same effect as not guilty, to indicate belief that the accused was probably guilty, but that the Crown failed to prove it beyond reasonable doubt.
Last night, a well-placed source said: ‘It is a longstanding embarrassment to Scotland and its justice system that we have one of the worst conviction rates for rape in the developed world.
‘It can’t be put down to any one or two factors, but the need for corroboration and the fact two verdicts out of three result in an acquittal don’t help victims secure justice.’
Of 121,668 criminal cases prosecuted in 2013-14, only 1,116 (0.9 per cent) were found not proven.
Yet juries used it in 6 per cent of all sex crimes prosecuted, and in 20 per cent of rape and attempted rape cases (43 out of 214).
Only 87 convictions for rape and attempted rape were secured, while 1,808 were reported, suggesting only 12 per cent of reported cases make it to court and only 5 per cent end in a conviction.
Earlier this year, during a debate on the new Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill, most of the controversy on proposed legal reforms focused on the plan to abolish corroboration – in the face of stiff opposition from virtually all court practitioners.
Although corroboration is not necessary in England and Wales, or in the majority of developed countries, Scots lawyers expressed fears that removing the safeguard would result in miscarriages of justice.
Following a report by Lord Bonomy, who chaired a review into how the abolition of corroboration would affect criminal law, Justice Secretary Michael Matheson removed the clauses from the Bill.
Now significant funding has been made available to carry out research into Scottish juries, one of Lord Bonomy’s recommendations, but concerns flagged up by the judge on corroboration and the not proven verdict will also be considered.
The source said: ‘Without corroboration, many more cases of rape, sexual assault and domestic violence would reach court. Ministers
Rani’s Who Do You Think You Are? will be on BBC One on Thursday, October 1, at 9pm. are committed to making these changes and improving access to justice for victims, mainly women and children, of these most distressing crimes.
‘Lord Bonomy made no recommendation on the not proven verdict, but raised the possibility that any changes might include a move to a two-verdict system. The Faculty of Advocates expressed support for the abolition of the third verdict if corroboration were abolished.’
Sandy Brindley of Rape Crisis Scotland said: ‘Corroboration does not help women who have been raped get justice. The not proven verdict is too often an easy option.
‘We need research to address why juries are so reluctant to convict men of rape, often despite overwhelming evidence.’
A Crown Office spokesman said: ‘The Lord Advocate broadly supports the abolition of corroboration as it can act as a barrier to justice, particularly when it comes to rape, abuse of children, other sexual offences and domestic violence.
‘It is a matter for the Scottish Government to decide whether to change legislation, though changing the law would bring Scotland into line with the approach of the vast majority of other countries.’
The Faculty of Advocates declined to comment, but a source said that its opposition to plans to abolish corroboration would remain unchanged.