AFTER NOT GUILTY · SCOTLAND
The trial is over. What happens next?
A Not Guilty verdict resolves the charge before the court. But it does not necessarily settle the wider consequences for records, work, wellbeing, reputation or access to services.
After Not Guilty is an independent public-interest initiative founded in Scotland. We bring together lived experience, practical information and public submissions to argue for accurate records, accountable decisions, restoration and verified institutional learning — with lessons relevant across the UK.
EXPLORE AFTER NOT GUILTY
Two ways to begin
FOR PEOPLE AFFECTED BY ACQUITTAL
Life after acquittal
Explore questions about records, restrictions, reputation and wellbeing, with links to independent organisations that may be able to help.
FOR READERS INTERESTED IN REFORM
The case for reform
Read public submissions, evidence-led analysis and proposals to improve accountability, record accuracy, restoration and independent verification.
The work begins in Scotland and considers wider UK relevance. Legal procedures and remedies differ by jurisdiction. This website does not provide legal advice.
OUR PURPOSE
If one person is spared an avoidable injustice
because something we identified was corrected, the work will have been worthwhile.
— Simon Peers, Founder, After Not Guilty
THE QUESTION BEYOND THE VERDICT
Not guilty. Not necessarily restored.
An acquittal answers whether the charge was proved. It does not automatically resolve every practical or administrative consequence of having been prosecuted. Some concerns can be addressed promptly. Others cross organisational boundaries and can remain unresolved without a clear owner.
This project asks what a fair, transparent and effective post-acquittal process should look like.
MY CASE · ELEVEN SECONDS
The story behind After Not Guilty
An eleven-second photograph led to months of criminal proceedings and my Not Guilty verdict on 24 April 2026. It also prompted a larger question: who owns the consequences that remain after a case ends?
THREE CONNECTED QUESTIONS
From lived experience to accountable systems
The human consequences, the information trail, and the responsibility to put things right.
01 / THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE
The human experience
Relationships, wellbeing, finances, work, access to services and reputation can be affected well beyond the court hearing. Experiences differ: this project will not presume every acquittal leads to the same consequences.
02 / THE INFORMATION TRAIL
The information trail
What happens to records, classifications and decisions held by different organisations? We examine accuracy, retention, access, correction and the reasons that must support continued use.
03 / RESTORATION AND LEARNING
Restoration and learning
Who checks what remains unresolved, who takes responsibility, and how can corrective action be verified? The goal is practical improvement rather than blame for its own sake.
THE ORPHANED OUTCOME
The case may be closed. Who owns what happens next?
We use the term “orphaned outcome” for a result whose downstream consequences have no clearly identified owner. People experience the whole system; organisations may see only their own part of it.
Restoration is the point at which an orphaned outcome finally gets an owner.
OUR PROPOSED SOLUTION: Explore the Scottish Post-Acquittal Standard and Justice Information Audit →
OUR APPROACH
Evidence first. People at the centre.
We draw on the opening themes of Rewiring the Public Sector and established engineering disciplines: systems thinking, traceable evidence, root-cause analysis, clear ownership, independent verification and continuous improvement.
A system is not successful merely because each organisation has completed its own process. We ask whether consequences have been reviewed, justified actions taken and the results verified. An acknowledgement is not corrective action.
Accuracy
We distinguish primary records, reported experiences, interpretations and proposals. We correct errors openly.
Fairness
We do not treat an acquittal as proof that officials acted improperly. Nor do we assume that an administratively completed process answers every legitimate question.
Privacy and care
We welcome general enquiries, relevant research and observations through our contact page, subject to our Privacy and Submissions Notice. Please do not send confidential or time-sensitive legal information; this is not a legal-advice or confidential reporting service.
The engineering experience behind the project
Simon Peers’s work through Scotland Power Electronics provides the professional engineering background that informs After Not Guilty’s approach to systems, evidence and continuous improvement.
A Scottish project with a wider question.
After Not Guilty was founded in Scotland and examines questions that may matter across the UK, while recognising that the criminal justice systems, procedures and remedies differ by jurisdiction.
This site is developing. Public submissions, reform proposals and useful links are available now. Further material will be added following editorial and privacy review.
Independent research and public discussion. This website does not provide legal advice, representation or a confidential reporting service.
About this project: Why After Not Guilty exists.
