Burns, say, not charged and without penalty (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
scot free
'without penalty' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for scot free that I've seen before include "Unscathed" , "the reverse of what Wallace hoped to be" , "(Get away) incurring no penalty" , "Unpunished" , "undamaged" .)