Grieving families left heartbroken by the not proven verdict are hopeful it will be scrapped after a Scottish Government consultation on the issue. Stewart Handling, father of tragic teenager Grace Handling, and Marie Kearney, whose son Craig died after being run over by a taxi, believe the consultation could finally trigger change.
Callum Owens, 21, admitted giving 13-year-old Grace, of Irvine, Ayrshire, the ecstasy pill which killed her. He left the schoolgirl unconscious on the floor after she had taken the drug, without calling an ambulance or her parents, then texted a friend saying he thought she was dead.
Taxi driver Derek McClinton, 52, admitted "clipping" Craig, of Neilston, East Renfrewshire, with his Skoda cab after the pair had argued during a journey.
The amateur footballer, 24, was later found stricken on the road and never survived the serious head injuries he'd sustained. But both Owens, of Irvine, and McClinton, of East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, walked free from culpable homicide charges when the cases against them were found not proven.
The verdicts left their families devastated and they both took part in the Scottish Government consultation on justice reform. The report on the consultation was published this week, showing about 62 per cent of respondents said the country should drop the verdict in criminal cases.
The not proven verdict was famously derided as "that bastard verdict" by Sir Walter Scott when he sat as a sheriff in Selkirk. Those who worked in the legal profession, served as a juror or had been charged with a crime were more likely to back retaining the verdict.
But most respondents backed a move to simply "guilty" and "not guilty" verdicts, and Stewart and Marie believe their wish may now become a reality. Stewart said: "It's not really a shock to me that the lawyers wanted to keep it.
"It showed that everyone's answers depend on their own circumstances, everyone wants what suits them the most.
"I'm pleased with how the consultation went and the outcome of it and I'm very grateful I got the opportunity to contribute to it.
"We're hoping to get change and I suppose 'hopeful' is the best word.
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"I'm pleased and reassured that people are looking for change and I welcome it if it happens.
"This won't bring Grace back but hopefully it can help other families get some closure in the future and stop them going through the same heartache we did."
Marie said: "It's not fair, it's an unfair verdict.
"You can see a lot of the legal people don't want it scrapped, but the people that have been involved with it do want it scrapped, because it's not a fair system.
"It's in their favour, nothing is in favour of the victims and the victims' families.
"I'm glad I took part in the consultation and I wish more people had taken part.
"I don't want to give up fighting for it, I know it's not going to help me or Craig, but hopefully it will for anyone else like me or in our situation.
"If the law's changed it will help them."
When the report was published, Justice Secretary Keith Brown said: "We must now give careful consideration to the full range of responses received.
"The findings from this consultation analysis will be used along with a wide range of other information and evidence to inform the decision making process on any potential recommendations for reform.
"Any potential reforms will be considered alongside wider work including the outcome of the current consultation on improving victims’ experiences of the justice system."
