In correspondence with "The Scotsman" and the Howard League for Penal Reform, it appears that the expert psychiatric evidence was mocked by the press and discounted by the Crown. The argument for Capital Punishment hinged upon the use of a firearm: Murder by firearm was a Capital Offence, to deter criminals from deeds like armed robbery, but the expert witnesses indicated that Burnett's use of the weapon better fitted an impulsive crime of passion than a crime motivated by intentions that Capital Punishment was supposed to deter. His mother and father both appeared in the witness box and his mother broke down in the court.