The dad of a murdered teenager has said his family will be “absolutely delighted” if Scotland’s controversial not proven verdict is scrapped. Joe Duffy has been campaigning for the abolition of the third verdict, which is unique to Scotland, since the trial of the man accused of killing his daughter.
Frances Auld was acquitted of murdering 19-year-old student Amanda Duffy, after her body was found on waste ground in Hamilton in 1992, with a jury returning a verdict of not proven against him. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has now announced plans to abolish the verdict, with this to be included in a forthcoming Criminal Justice Bill.
Mr Duffy said that having the third option available to juries was “unnecessary and outmoded” and that its abolition was “long overdue”. Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme, he added: “Hopefully this Bill will get passed and we will be, as a family, absolutely delighted.”
While the the Law Society of Scotland has said it is “deeply concerned” about the change, Mr Duffy said: “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.” He said there was no other “country in the world that has three verdicts, especially when you consider two of them being exactly the same thing”.
Ms Sturgeon has said that if legislation to abolish the not proven verdict is passed it “will be a change of truly historic significance in Scotland, and one firmly intended to improve access to justice for victims of crime”.
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