The Guardian
Miscarriages of justice may be out of fashion, but they haven't gone away
By Jon Robins
Another breakthrough in the Susan May
case last week, one of a small number of alleged wrongful convictions
that seemingly unravel and attract greater disquiet as the years pass.
Last week the Guardian revealed how Greater Manchester police failed to
follow up a "good suspect" (in their words)- a heroin addict with
convictions for burgling the homes of elderly people. May served 12
years for the murder of her 89-year old aunt, a crime she has always insisted she never committed.
May addressed the recent Innocence Network UK (INUK) symposium which called for urgent reform of the reform of the Criminal Cases Review Commission
(CCRC). The CCRC was established some 15 years ago in the wake of
judicial scandals such as Birmingham Six and Guildford Four. "I thought
it was a beacon of light which would ensure those wrongly convicted got
justice," May told delegates.
When the CCRC was set up, May was in
Durham prison where she spent seven years of a 12 year sentence She is
thought to have been the first lifer to protest their innocence
throughout a sentence to be released on her tariff date. May claims to
have been told repeatedly by parole officers, psychologists and prison
staff that unless she admitted her guilt, she would never leave. "Even
though I may be free from the confines of jail I am not free," she said
at the event. "I still feel locked up because my conviction still
stands." (...)
The entire article may be read on the Guardian's website
***
Presentation of the article
By Aurélie Poupard, 3e année, Licence Droit BIngue, Université du Havre
Miscarriages of justice are conviction and punishment
of a person for a crime he didn't commit. Generally, these persons claim their innocence and are
jailed for years. A few of them see their innocence recognized by a
court of appeal.
The journalist gives 2 examples :
–
Susan
May : 12-year sentence for the murder of her 89-year old aunt
–
Sam
Hallam : jailed for life in 2005 for murder
It is a difficult situation to stand because :
Not only a question of being freed from jail but to be
publicly recognized as innocent
Susan May : “Even though I may be free from the confines
of jail I am not free. I still feel locked up because my conviction still
stands.”
It is a rare phenomena, “small number of alleged wrongful
convictions” but still exists, and there is still a lot of debate about it, despite the evolution of the law and the increasing protection of human
rights especially the rights of defence and the right to a fair trial.
Some institutions have been created to review these cases :
Criminal
Cases Review Commission :
It was established in 1997 to investigate possible
miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. If the commission considers that the case is a
possible miscarriage of justice, it refers the case in front of the Court of
Appeal. The goal is to find new evidences, new clues, new suspects
that can be hidden voluntary or not by the police during the investigation
–
Innocence
Network UK :
This is an affiliation of organizations dedicated to
providing free professional legal and investigative services to individuals
seeking to prove innocence of crimes for which they have been convicted and
working to redress the causes of wrongful convictions.
Call for reform :
The Innocence Network UK calls to reform the Criminal
Cases Review Commission, which is criticized for its length to examine the
cases, so a few cases were examined finally. On 1, 000 requests each year, the commission rejects
96% of them.
Innocence Network UK proposed to replace the “real
possibility” test, but it was rejected by the Royal Commission on
Criminal Justice. Indeed, the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 states that only cases
with the “real possibility” of the conviction being overturned can be referred
to the court of appeal. The Act of Parliament in itself reduces the power of
the commission and thus the number of cases which could reviewed.
It is an international phenomena :
It does not exist only in UK, there are cases in US, like the example of Troy Davis, sentenced to death despite the fact
that there were no material proofs and only testimonies
I think this is a great thing that a commission exists
to review this kind of cases. But the big problem is the number of cases which are
examined, it is necessary to find a means in order to examine more cases et
make procedure shorter.
--
Pour aller plus loin (note from the teacher):
