While the Scottish legal system has ancient roots, it is constantly evolving. An area of our system which I believe requires attention is the procedure governing post-mortem examinations in some cases of a suspicious death. Specifically, cases where a suspect has been charged about that death and a defence counsel has been appointed.

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Paige Docherty, the daughter of one of my constituents, was murdered on 19 March 2016; her body was discovered two days later and the man who was later found guilty was charged on 26 March. Despite the suspect being charged, Paige’s family had no certainty about when a decision would be made about her body and when it would be released for burial. The second post mortem wasn’t held until 15 April and her body was released to her family on 18 April, 30 days after her murder.

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Since then I have been working on a way to make the procedure more transparent and give greater clarity about when decisions about the victim's remains will be taken at the same time as protecting the absolute right of the defendant to a fair trial.

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I believe the changes I wish to introduce would achieve that. I believe it is possible to retain a criminal justice system based on the fundamental principle of a right to a fair trial whilst, at the same time, giving victims’ families greater certainty about when they will be able to hold a funeral for their loved ones.

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Please read my draft proposal and let me know your views using the link at the top of the page. 

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Gil Paterson MSP, Clydebank & Milngavie