Not proven sufficient for the verdict ""guilty"", which has replaced the older verdict ""proven"". Approximately one third of all acquittal verdicts by Scottish juries use the formulation "Not proven"; the others use "Not guilty". The verdict ""Not proven"" also is available for judges in the summary procedure, and is employed in about a fifth of the "summary" acquittals. The proportion of "Not proven" acquittals in general is higher in the more severe cases; but so then are the proportion of acquittals "versus" convictions. This might have many different reasons, e.g., that in average it might be factually more complicated to establish guilt
West Memphis Three expressed his doubts about the guilty verdicts on the West Memphis Three website. In 2007, Pamela Hobbs, the mother of victim Stevie Branch, joined those who have publicly questioned the verdicts, calling for a reopening of the verdicts and further investigation of the evidence. In late 2007, John Mark Byers—who was previously vehement in his belief that Echols, Misskelley, and Baldwin were guilty—also announced that he now believes that they are innocent. "I had made the comment if it were ever proven the three were innocent, I'd be the first to lead the charge for their freedom," said Byers, and