Grieving Ayrshire dad Stewart Handling, whose 13-year-old daughter Grace died after taking ecstasy, is backing Scotland's plans to axe the controversial 'not proven' verdict.
Stewart was left 'traumatised all over again' when the man who admitted to giving Grace the fatal drugs in 2018 was acquitted after the jury returned a not proven verdict.
The bereaved Irvine dad-of-three, said: "I'm delighted with the news, the whole family is very pleased.
"I've been blown away. I'm not a political person but it is wonderful to see cross-party support to abolish the not proven verdict. I'm actually proud of the government for taking this bold step.
"I spoke with two rape victims yesterday and they were pleased to hear the news too.
"Not proven has affected a lot of people, for me it was a new trauma on top of losing Grace and the tragic way we lost her. The verdict really does traumatise you all over again."
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced this week, if approved, a new Criminal Justice Bill would abolish the 'not proven' verdict and introduce greater protection for the anonymity of complainers in sexual offence cases.
Stewart and his family marked what would've been Grace's 18th birthday at her grave on July 30.
Stewart added: "The death of Grace has affected all of my family both mentally and physically.
"I'm devastated and I can't sleep at night. I'm filled with deep regret and sadness that she'll never get to go on holidays with her friends, or have a career or a family of her own. We've had lots of big milestones in the family this year and its devastating Grace isn't here with us.
"The feeling of injustice never goes away."
However, Stewart was encouraged by the recent Inverclyde case which saw a snapchat drug dealer found guilty for killing a 14-year-old schoolgirl after supplying her with ecstasy.
He said: "I was pleased with the result in the tragic Cerys Reeve case which saw the dealer jailed for seven years.
"It won't be long enough for Cerys' family but, it was the same culpable homicide charge as in Grace's case so that's encouraging."
Stewart is hopeful this will spark more changes to the justice system, particularly for jurors.
He added: "Criminal experts will need to get together and figure out the best course of action moving forward. I'm an advocate for jurors to be given some kind of induction when they are selected for jury duty.
"It's a scary thought and I still can't believe people aren't even given a 15-minute talk about their choices, what the verdicts mean and how that decision affects someone's future."
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