Scotland could end double jeopardy

The ‘double jeopardy’ law could be scrapped in Scotland, bringing it in line with England and Wales, if a Bill is successfully passed.

The law, which prevents a person standing trial for the same crime twice, went under consultation in March following a recommendation by the Scottish Law Commission. If introduced, the Bill is expected to apply to serious sexual crimes and culpable homicide in addition to murder and rape.

The Scottish government is also expected to apply the change retrospectively, including the possible retrial of Angus Sinclair over the World’s End murders. Sinclair was cleared of charges for the rape and murder of teenagers Christine Eadie and Helen Scott in 1977 after a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to hold the trial.

A case had been compiled to try Sinclair for the murders of Miss Eadie and Miss Scott, in addition to four other victims attacked in Glasgow, but it fell apart when it emerged Strathclyde Police had lost all evidence from the unsolved Glasgow murders and that someone was already in prison for one of them – and had been for almost 30 years.

Sinclair is already serving a sentence for another murder, and is eligible for parole in 2016. The trial exhibits prepared for the collapsed case have been preserved and a fresh prosecution is expected to be launched if the double jeopardy law is scrapped.