Women accused of killing with others: Experiences of the Scottish criminal justice system

Abstract

This article examines homicide cases in which women have been accused of killing alongside another person or persons -an area which until now has not been examined in a Scottish context. The findings presented demonstrate that being accused of killing with another person or persons can have particularly adverse effects for women: claims of domestic abuse are more likely to be rejected and ultimately, existing tendencies to construct women as deviant within the criminal justice system will be exacerbated, resulting in more severe punishment when they are convicted under the doctrine of art and part liability. It is concluded that closer attention must be paid to the criminalisation of women who are accused of offending alongside another person or persons, particularly in Scotland where less attention has been paid to how doctrines of derivative liability operate in practice.