WE MUST ABOLISH THE THIRD VERDICT
Plea 30yrs after suspect in dock
The family of a murdered teen who have campaigned against Scotland’s not proven verdict for 30 years said it was about time it was abolished.
Joe Duffy’s 19-year- old daughter Amanda was murdered in 1992 in Hamilton but local man Francis Auld was found not proven of the killing despite evidence that he had badly bitten her just hours before her death.
An attempt to secure a retrial failed in 2016.
Earlier this month First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the move to scrap not proven was “f irmly intended” to improve access to justice for victims of crime.
Joe said: “I have said for 30 years now the only difference between not guilty and not proven is the spelling.”
The dad said that at the time of Auld’s trial, he had thought that not proven must have meant something other than a full acquittal.
He said: “If there’s a third verdict, which is not proven, surely it should be a justifiable verdict.
“It must mean something different. Unfortunately we then discovered not proven means exactly the same as not guilty.”
Scot land ha s three pos sible verd i c t s in criminal cases – guilty, not guilty and not proven – but MSPs will now consider changing the model as part of a planned new Criminal
Justice Bill. But some
legal experts believe the verdict offers additional protection to the accused, ensuring they will not be convicted if the jury has any doubts.
But Joe added: “I don’t see how it gives additional protection. If there’s insufficient evidence or the evidence isn’t good enough you are actually entitled to a not guilty verdict, surely. “Guilty and not guilty works in every country in the world. The only place that is unique is Scotland.
“We keep hearing from the people who want to keep this that the Scottish justice system is the envy of the world and it is held in high regard but not one of them has ever produced any evidence to prove this.
There is no country in the world that has three verdicts, especially when you consider two of them being exactly the same thing.”
A Scottish Government consultation in July found 62 per cent of the 194 responses were in favour of scrapping not proven. The Law Society of Scotland said it had “deep concern” that the plans would increase the risk of miscarriages of justice.
Murray Etherington, president of the society, said: “We are deeply concerned that making such a fundamental change as removing the not proven verdict must be done with the utmost care and consideration for the wider implications and to prevent an increased risk of miscarriages of justice.”
The Sunday Mail revealed in 2016 that Auld enjoyed a lavish wedding despite serious questions over his involvement in Amanda’s murder. A year later he died of cancer, aged 45.