criminology
With reference to academic and credible case material/evidence critically discuss miscarriage of justice in the case(s) of Derek Bentley and Barri White
It is with great expectation that society as a whole believe that the criminal justice system is a fair and effective system. The system obtains evidence for guilt which is seen to be overwhelming and clearly more convincing than the defendants claim to innocence.(Walker,1993) However in recent years some court cases have not been subject to this as miscarriages of justices have occurred. A ‘miscarriage of justice’ can be defined as a failure to attain the desired end-result of ‘justice’. (Walker,1993) With the expectation of justice in the democratic society we live in today, the states role should treat individuals with equal respect for their rights and for the rights of others. However in the system we use Packer (1969) gives the alternative view and recognizes that the possibility of human fallibility and error can thereby yield grave injustice. (Packer,1969) Giving an indication as to why sometimes miscarriages of justices can occur due to the setup of the way we convict defendants. There are many factors that enable miscarriages of justice, and therefore must be evaluated as to why miscarriages arise in the criminal justice system, and how it should and has responded in the past. This being barriers that impact on a fair trial, flaws evidential sufficiency, politics, race, media, or even the legal institutions itself such as the police.
The case of formerly convicted Derek Bentley, 19 years of age and teenage criminal Christopher craig aged 16, collectively responsible for the joint murder of a policeman is considered as one of the most horrific miscarrages of jusctice in British legal history (Rolinson, 2005, p. 32). When both young men stood trial at the Old Bailey, Bentley alongside Craig were accused of murder. Although at the time of the shooting, Bentley was unnarmed and was under arrest at the
It is with great expectation that society as a whole believe that the criminal justice system is a fair and effective system. The system obtains evidence for guilt which is seen to be overwhelming and clearly more convincing than the defendants claim to innocence.(Walker,1993) However in recent years some court cases have not been subject to this as miscarriages of justices have occurred. A ‘miscarriage of justice’ can be defined as a failure to attain the desired end-result of ‘justice’. (Walker,1993) With the expectation of justice in the democratic society we live in today, the states role should treat individuals with equal respect for their rights and for the rights of others. However in the system we use Packer (1969) gives the alternative view and recognizes that the possibility of human fallibility and error can thereby yield grave injustice. (Packer,1969) Giving an indication as to why sometimes miscarriages of justices can occur due to the setup of the way we convict defendants. There are many factors that enable miscarriages of justice, and therefore must be evaluated as to why miscarriages arise in the criminal justice system, and how it should and has responded in the past. This being barriers that impact on a fair trial, flaws evidential sufficiency, politics, race, media, or even the legal institutions itself such as the police.
The case of formerly convicted Derek Bentley, 19 years of age and teenage criminal Christopher craig aged 16, collectively responsible for the joint murder of a policeman is considered as one of the most horrific miscarrages of jusctice in British legal history (Rolinson, 2005, p. 32). When both young men stood trial at the Old Bailey, Bentley alongside Craig were accused of murder. Although at the time of the shooting, Bentley was unnarmed and was under arrest at the