Unit 3 AC3.1 Examine information for validity Flashcards
About this AC
In this section you should examine a range of different information sources and show you appreciate that not everything is accurate of valid. An item may, for instance, be very biased, such as newspaper reporting being politically biased. The author may be expressing their opinion only and failing to take into account all sides of the argument.
Sometimes an information source may be factually wrong or outdated and reliance on such information can be dangerous, especially in criminal cases. Always consider who has written the source and why it was written. This can influence the validity and legitimacy of the information provided. Also consider when the source was created.
Evidence
EVIDENCE
While evidence in a criminal case is generally reliable, there are occasions where it has been shown that evidence is not valid. An example of this is the case of Sally Clark and the Expert evidence of Sir Roy Meadow:
Trial verdicts
TRIAL VERDICTS
Sometimes, the verdict given within a trial may not represent the true nature of what the evidence reflected if the jury and trial lack validity. This is true in the case of Barry George.
Sally Clark
Sally Clark was convicted of the murder of her first two children in 1999. The death of her first child, aged just under 3 months, was originally treated as natural causes. When her second child died a year later, it was treated as suspicious.
When a home office pathologist revisited the first death, he deemed that suspicious too.
Sir Roy Meadow made ‘simply astonishing’ mistakes with regards to the statistical evidence, claiming there was a 1 in 73 million chance of two children dying of natural causes at their age.
However, this statistical evidence was unreliable; but the jury accepted his evidence because he was the medical expert.
Sally Clark was released from prison after three years, following an appeal hearing that deemed her conviction to be unsafe. Clearly, the evidence was not valid in this situation.
Barry George
Barry George was found guilty of murdering Jill Dando, who was shot in the head outside her home in London in 1999. She was a very famous news presenter for the BBC and also presented Crimewatch.
There was intense public pressure for the murder to be solved; however, there was no forensic evidence and police struggled to find a suspect. Police came across local man Barry George who had an obsession with guns, follow women and take photos of them. The police seized one of his jackets and found some gun discharge in the pocket that matched the bullet at the crime scene. A fibre discovered at the crime scene matched the fibre from one of George’s trousers. A jury found him guilty and he spent 8 years in prison.
However, the validity of the conviction was questioned. The gunshot residue was less than a half of a thousandth of an inch, and the jacket was not seized until a year after the shooting. It could be argued that the evidence was unreliable and inconclusive.
Following an appeal, George’s conviction was quashed, and he won a retrial, when a jury found him not guilty. This shows the original jury and trial lacked validity.
Media Reports
MEDIA REPORTS
The media plays a major role in the way the public perceive crime.
However, media reports should always be examined for the sources used, the political viewpoint of the article, whether stereotypes appear, and whether all people are held to account or if there are double standards.
News reports should remain objective and impartial so as to produce validity.
However, at times reporting may have compromised impartiality and by providing subjective political commentary.
This lack of objectivity could mean the reporting lacks accuracy and is not valid.
Judgement from Offical Inquiry
JUDGEMENT FROM OFFICAL INQUIRY
Sometimes, even official inquiries can lack validity or be inconclusive. An example of this is the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989.
Hillsborough
15th April, 1989. FA Cup Semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium, a crush against the steel terraces led to the death of 96 Liverpool fans and let hundreds more injured.
It was suggested by the media that drunken Liverpool fans were to blame. The police also blame fans for being late and drunk. Despite an interim report written by the Director of Public Prosecutions, there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against the police.
After a lengthy campaign, a panel on an official inquiry uncovered that the police orchestrated a cover-up, falsified documents and blamed innocent supporters – it was uncovered that 41 supporters could have been saved and the report clears the supporters of any wrongdoing or blame for the disaster.
After a new inquest and two years of evidence it was found that all 96 fans were unlawfully killed. Stadium design faults, and a delayed ambulance response time were to blame. Clearly the initial findings were not accurate.
Validity
Validity – the quality of being logically or factually sound; soundness or cogency.
Examine
Examine – inspect (someone or something) thoroughly in order to determine their nature or condition.
Biased
Biased – unfairly prejudiced for or against someone or something.
Policy
Policy – a course or principle of action adopted or proposed by an organization or individual.
Reliance
Reliance – dependence on or trust in someone or something.
Prejudice
Prejudice – preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.
Preconception
Preconception – a preconceived idea or prejudice.
