Abolish the ‘Not Proven’ verdict in Scottish law

Rejected 21 signatures

What the petition asks

Scotland is the only country to have 3 verdict options in law- guilty, not guilty and not proven. Not proven goes either two ways- either the jury think that the suspect is guilty but haven’t got enough evidence or they just aren’t very sure.

So many people are failed by the Scottish justice system in rape trials due to the not proven verdict. To go through years of trauma talking to police, procurator fiscal, lawyers and physical checks to their body for evidence. To question their character, whether they were under the influence of alcohol, what they were wearing- it is extremely humiliating to a person. The not proven verdict means that most rapists that go to trial get to walk free while the victim is dehumanised by speaking out.

Why it was rejected

It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.

We can't accept your petition because this is the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament and not the UK Government or Parliament.

You could start a petition to the Scottish Parliament here:

https://www.parliament.scot/gettinginvolved/petitions/

Timeline

6 May 2019	Petition opened for signatures
5 Jun 2019	Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 21

Status Rejected

Rejected 5 Jun 2019

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