Miscarriage of justice can be defined in many ways, but the simplest definition of the “miscarriage of justice is simply a failure to achieve the justice”. “Justice is about distribution, according persons fair shares and treatment”. It is not only restricted to the court system or penal system, it can occur anywhere, for example “on the streets when the Police unjustly exercise them conceive powers”. United kingdom’s history is full of the miscarriage of justice cases, which however has led to the lack of confidence in the justice system. Some of the reasons why miscarriages of justice occur are due to the human error, non-disclosure of relevant evidences, wrong confession due to the pressure from police and court and “Institutions are inadequate”. …show more content…
This case led to the change of outcome of another case of Anne Maguire and other members of her family who were convicted for explosive bombing. “The conviction was overturned because new evidence about the possibility of innocent contamination cast substantial doubt on the scientific evidence at trial that the defendants had been in contact with …show more content…
Lack of the technology being used in the criminal appeal system to identify the accurate proofs. Less medical proofs being used and failure to test the correct DNA’s. Another example is a confusion between the two people who look little alike and hence misidentification leads to the innocent being prisoned. There is less awareness about miscarriage of justice amongst the public. In order to decrease the number of cases of miscarriage of justice, there should me more accurate and appropriate way of getting the evidences. After the 1995 act there has been increased use of scientific methods but there should be more and accurate usage of the CCTV footages and forensic evidences. Reducing the police misinterpretation and making the accurate reports and good questioning skills are required. “Interviewing supervisory policy was also introduced to aid increase in the quality of the information received during the interviews and identifies areas where improvements are
This illustrates the refusal of the rights of victims and the inevitable denial of justice for society. The coronial inquest that was conducted in 2011, corrected some of the initial issues with the investigation. Before the inquest, vital DNA evidence was disposed of, as a result of human error, which meant that the likely suspect could not be identified. As a result of human error the inquest provided some form of justice for society but due to how late it was conducted the family did not receive justice
The aspect of wrongful conviction is established within law to protect the innocent from being abused by the law. Nevertheless, the real issue of concern is the fact of whether wrongful conviction actually helps those who cannot help themselves. With that said, another important underlying factor is whether the criminal justice system has restrictions set up to help those from being innocently convicted and those who have been convicted and later was found to be innocent. By looking at the case of Guy Paul Morin, one will see how the police, courts, and criminal justice system failed in aiding the innocent and bringing justice in society, as well as showing that the system has failed in helping its people, and what must be done to aid those who have been wrongfully convicted.
Criminal law attempts to balance the rights of individuals to freedom from interference with person or property, and society’s need for order. Procedural matters, the rights of citizens and powers of the state, specific offences and defences, and punishment and compensation are some of the ways society and the criminal justice system interact.
From the aforementioned cases, it is evident to see that the Australian legal system has not always been fair and just, however, over time it has been shaped and moulded to clearly represent what is now considered to be fair and just in our society. From the procedures and presumptions of how the legal system is administered to the law and regulations which determine what is the crime and punishment – these are based on the transparency, equality, freedom from bias, human rights, and established set of rules adhere to the justice and fairness of the legal system.
Counsel of the appellant sought a certificate from the judge to bring an interlocutory appeal to the Court of Appeal against the admissibility of the coincidence evidence. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, ruling the coincidence evidence inadmissible. It adopted a different approach than that in NSW in reviewing the ruling of the Evidence.
When police officers investigate suspect, especially a criminal suspect, public interest was against and officers owe a duty of care to general public for the purpose of public safety. Meanwhile, private interest was against as well and officers owe a duty of care to suspect to ensure suspect’s rights and avoid charging innocent person. In order to balance these two conflict interests, a clear standard of care need to be established so police officers could follow the procedures to prevent negligent investigation.
The main causes that contributed to the miscarriages of justice were perjury or false accusations from jailhouse informants, and prosecutorial misconduct.
To Kill A Mockingbird is a classic book by Harper Lee. Justice, being righteous and morally right, is a recurring theme in this book. Set during the Great Depression, the story takes place in a small town full of judgemental Southerners in Alabama. At the end of the tale, Boo Radley, who never left his house, saves two children from an attacker by fatally stabbing him. Boo was the gossip topic of children and adults. The townspeople thought he was mysterious and creepy. Because he was trying to protect Boo from further discrimination, from further humiliation, and from becoming a public spectacle, the usually law-abiding sheriff declared that it was an accident; that the attacker actually fell on his knife. This declaration is wrong for three reasons. First, the murderer should be punished for his actions. Second, the sheriff lied about what actually happened. Third, the sheriff made an exception to the law. “reasons, decision, justice” sentence
Commonsense justice and jury instructions are placed together to exemplify the informative and the response between the two; like the “analytic and beneficial”. Conjoining these two objectives, gives them “instructive potential for the law;” with the verdicts of not guilty, or hung juries, and jury nullification. These two objectives are “more likely the failure of jury instructions,” [slightly] than the “failings of jurors.”” (Norman J. Finkel, 2000).
In criminal law the principle, presumed innocent until proven guilty is sometimes twisted and altered to presumed guilty until proven innocent in many wrongful conviction cases. Many factors go into the deliberation and reasoning behind an investigators, juries and courts verdict and occasionally their decision is actually wrong and an innocent person is locked up behind bars, to serve a sentence that they do not deserve because they are not a criminal. False confessions from an innocent suspect is very common in the interrogation room and by it is their own fault because they admit to being a part a crime they truthfully were not part of due to misleading questions or statements by the investigators. Another factor that could place an innocent person in prison is wrong scientific discoveries and false DNA evidence. Doctors sometimes misinterpret injuries and causes of death and this can really alter a case's outcome significantly. Finally, witnesses may report false sightings, or report something that they thought they heard but misinterpreted it entirely. More laws should be put into place to protect the innocent suspects, and to insure that nobody goes to prison that really does not deserve it and more citizens should be trained to accurately give a description of a suspect to decrease the wrongful conviction rate.
Every time an innocent person is exonerated based on DNA testing, law enforcement agencies look at what caused the wrongful convictions. There are many issues that contribute to putting guiltless lives behind bars including: eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, imperfect forensic science, and more (Gould and Leo 18). When a witness is taken into a police station to identify a suspect, it is easy for their memories to be blurred and their judgment influenced. This can lead the witness to identify a suspect who is actually innocent. Flawed forensic science practice also contributes to wrongful imprisonments. In the past, analysts have been inaccurate due to carelessness, testified in court presenting evidence that was not based on science, and participated in misconduct. False confessions have also been known to cause unlawful convictions. In some instances, police departments took part in transgression and interviewed their suspects in such an intense manner that a false confession was used cease the interrogation. To imagine that there are innocent people rotting in prison is appalling and something must be done. To prevent wrongful convictions, legislatures should form commissions and policies to reform flawed procedures.
On Bloodsworth’s appeal he argued several points. First he argued that there was not sufficient evidence to tie Bloodsworth to the crime. The courts ruled that the ruling stand on the grounds that the witness evidence was enough for reasonable doubt that the c...
“We live in a world where justice is skewed.” This statement can be interpreted in many different ways. I personally think that this statement means that the way our justice system can be altered in good ways and bad ways. In the many stories we have read there were different situations that altered the justice system. Many people view justice in different ways. Throughout the stories we have read, there were many different ways that justice was skewed, both positively and negatively. No way is particularly better than the other, however most people favor one way or another. Thsi statement is true in many situations and can be applied to our lives.
The theories of Anderson, Hogg,Walker and Wilson are justified opinions and could be advantageous to the criminal justice system. However, even if these theories are implemented into our society, corruption will still always occur. Unfortunately, it is just part of human nature. It is futile to establish new methods of judgement without considering the fact that corruption occurs throughout all levels of society. Juries, police, and lawyers can all be persuaded and succumb to corruption if it suits their needs to do so. Likewise, DNA samples can be tampered with or plagued by human error. It is a vicious circle and until human beings change, miscarriages will continue to occur. Miscarriages of justice are definitely not exceptional and occur much more frequently than most people realise. They place a great burden on our society as a whole and cause injustices and hardships to many people. Just because we do not hear about them, does not mean they don't exist. As Walker states "since justice is applied by fallible, prejudiced human beings, miscarriages are inevitable".
Justice is in fact the most important system of our government. To some people justice is the punishment someone receives after being convicted of a crime; other people could think it means the difference between knowing right from wrong. In my opinion, along with dictionary.com, justice is best defined as the fair and equal treatment of people. This is not just used in the court of law however; my definition should be used in every aspect of human life, from work to school and beyond. But, for that to happen, I believe "fair and equal treatment" needs to be defined, and that means to treat people of any skin color, gender, age, sexual preference, or any other personal trait the same way.