MSPs’ decision to scrap Scotland’s centuries-old option of a “not proven” verdict in a jury trial has delighted many crime survivors but raised legal worries about justice and conviction rates.

The Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill will abolish the “legal idiosyncrasy” that allowed Scottish juries to deliver a third possible verdict, along with guilty and not guilty, said the BBC .

The bill also introduces another major change to jury procedures: “raising the bar for guilty verdicts" to a “two-thirds majority", instead of a simple majority, in an attempt to “allay concerns of some defence lawyers” that removing the “not proven” verdict could “make it harder for their clients” to get a fair trial.

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