Unit 3 AC3.2 Draw conclusions from information Flashcards
Just verdicts
There are approximately 130,000 criminal cases held before the crown courts every year, and the vast majority are decided appropriately and in accordance with the legal rules and evidence available at that time. Sometimes justice is swift but on other occasions it can take years for defendants to be brought to justice. Take the case of Stephen Lawrence for example, he was murdered on 22nd April 1993 but the case took over 18 years until 2 defendants were convicted of his murder on 3rd January 2012. A case that has been proved beyond reasonable doubt, is a ‘just verdict’.
Miscarriage of justice
A miscarriage of justice involves the conviction and subsequent punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. The most notorious cases often involve the person having served a lengthy jail sentence.
There have been numerous miscarriages of justice within our legal system; thankfully, the following are examples of cases that have resulted in the quashing of a wrongful conviction:
Stefan Kiszco
Stefan Kiszko spent 16 years in prison after he was arrested and convicted of a sex attack and murder of a young girl.
He signed a confession without a lawyer present, as he believed he would be allowed to return to his mother.
The statement was later withdrawn, and he stated that the police bullied him into it. His mother campaigned for his release for many years and eventually at an appeal hearing, court judges heard that Kiszko was physically unable to produce semen. His conviction was quashed in 1992. Sadly, he died a year later from a heart attack.
Timothy Evans
Timothy Evans was a tenant at 10 Rillington Place along with John Christie. Despite Christie killing both Evans’ wife and child, it was Evans who was hanged for the murders in 1950.
However, Christie’s killings were later discovered and her confessed to killing seven people. He was hanged in 1953. This was one of the cases that helped change the policy on capital punishment.
Stephen Downing
Stephen Downing spent 27 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. He worked at a cemetery and, in 1973, found Wendy Sewell who had been sexually assaulted and beaten with a pickaxe handle.
She died two days later and after being interviewed by police, without a solicitor, Stephen confessed to the murder. However, he had a reading age of only 11 years old and later retracted the confession.
He protested his innocence throughout his time in prison. He was later cleared, following a successful campaign, of murder through the Court of Appeal in 2002, who stated that his conviction was unsafe.
Sean Hodgson
Sean Hodgson was wrongly jailed, in 1979, for a murder he did not commit and spent 27 years in prison. While he confessed to the murder it was known that he had mental health issues and was a pathological liar.
However, his conviction was quashed in 2009 after advances in DNA testing showed he was innocent. He died three year after his release.
Just sentencing
As with the number of convictions in criminal cases, the vast majority of the sentences provided are appropriate and bring about justice. However, there are times when sentencing appears to be unfair or unduly lenient. In such a situation. It is possible for anyone to ask the Attorney General to seek an appeal against this type of sentence. Introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the scheme covers offences such as:
- Murder, rape, robbery, serious drug offences, a range of terrorist offences.
In 2016, 41 prison sentences were increased in England and Wales under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme. This represents a 17% rise from the previous year.
Attorney General
Attorney General - TheAttorney Generalis chief legal adviser to the Crown.
Unduly Lenient
Unduly Lenient – Anunduly lenientsentence is a punishment considered unreasonably low compared to the crimes committed.
Capital Punishment
Capital Punishment – The death sentence.
Miscarriage of Justice
Miscarriage of Justice - a failure of a court or judicial system to attain the ends of justice, especially one which results in the conviction of an innocent person.
