It's a British phrase? Ok. Previous conviction for what? Murder? Double-parking? Why was he arrested? On what evidence? A motive isn't evidence. Otherwise, every recipient of life insurance would be arrested if the deceased's death was suspect.
You don't need a whole vs on it, just a few words. See Long Black Veil as an example.

The song isn't believable and it doesn't make sense. At least the first vs. needs to be rewritten, then drop the Rose/rose idea. It pulls the song in two directions.


Nashville demos etc:

https://www.soundclick.com/bands3/default.cfm?bandID=431939

other demos:

https://soundcloud.com/wabash-cannibal

Amazon Kindle books by Robert George you may enjoy:

1) Americana

2) Teenage Graceland

3) The Will to Be

4) Fort Mystery

5) Wheel Sea

6) My One True Love