3.2 Draw conclusions from information
Miscarriages of justice are more prevalent than most people realise, and I've
investigated this via a variety of cases. Derek Bentley was accused of
murdering two police officers alongside a companion, and the 19-year-old was
hanged after serving ten years in prison. The Guildford four were sentenced to
14 years in jail until their convictions for two IRA bombings in Guildford were
overturned by an appeals court in 1989. In addition, the Birmingham six were
wrongfully convicted of the murder of 21 people in Birmingham after bombs
burst, and they were sentenced to 17 years in prison. Stefan Kiszuko was found
guilty of the sexual murder of a young girl and sentenced to 16 years in jail
before being released. Stephen Downing was sentenced to 27 years in jail for a
murder that he confessed to despite numerous police failures. Finally, Sean
Hodgson was convicted of murder after confessing to the crime, although he
was a pathological liar and should not have been sentenced to prison.
I may conclude from my analysis and examination of cases that miscarriages
of justice do occur. One cause for this is police wrongdoing, as they
misconstrued a critical word in Derek Bentley's case, "let him have it," where
Bentley was ordering his companion Craig to hand over the gun. Price twisted
this, claiming Bentley was inciting Craig to shoot the cops, and thus he was
responsible for the killings. Furthermore, a key police witness lied on oath. In
the Guildofrd four, police wrongdoing was also evident, with the suspects being
subjected to severe coercion by the police, including intimidation, torture, and
threats against their families. Because the authorities were under pressure to
prosecute, the four confessed to murder due to the violent nature of their
interrogation methods. Similarly, in the case of the Birmingham six, a specialist
unit of the police conducted a specific stop and search. The six were assaulted
by the police and denied food and sleep while in detention as a result of this.
The six, like the Guildford four, were threatened and beaten while being
interrogated for 12 hours without a break, implying they were likely exhausted.
In the Stefan Kiszuo case, the police also failed during interrogations by
refusing to allow a lawyer to accompany Stefan throughout the lengthy
two-day interrogation, which culminated in Stefan confessing to the crime. This
backs up my conclusion that police misbehaviour does occur, and as a result,
miscarriages of justice do occur in our criminal justice system, demonstrating
that the system is unjust at times.
Another conclusion I may draw is that many miscarriages of justice occur
because suspects' mental health is not taken into account. Derek Bentley, for
, example, had the mental age of an 11-year-old, and one psychiatrist said he
was unfit to face trial because he was illiterate and borderline retarded.
Similarly, Stephen Downing had the mental age of an 11-year-old and severe
learning impairments, implying that he would have no idea what was going on
during his interrogation if his lawyer was not present. In addition, despite being
a chronic liar, Sean Hodgson admitted to the murder of a woman, and this was
not taken into account in court. This backs up my theory that police
misbehaviour can include failing to evaluate the mental well-being and
capacity of their suspects, resulting in justice miscarriages. This exemplifies
the fact that the criminal justice system is not always impartial.
I can also conclude that evidence plays a big role in miscarriages of justice,
such as in the case of the Guildford four, who accepted their guilt but later
withdrew their testimonies, telling the court they only confessed because of
the torture. It was later revealed that the evidence that may have cleared the
four was not brought to the police's attention. Similarly, in the case of the
Birmingham six, forensic evidence used to find positive results of handling
explosives was overturned, with the judge stating that the convictions were
dangerous and unsatisfactory as a result of new evidence. Evidence that
cleared the suspects in each of these cases was withheld until a retrial.
Scientific evidence showed that Stefan Kiszuo was incapable of leaving sperm
at the crime scene, indicating that the suspect could not have been the
perpetrator. Sean Hodgson was also cleared by DNA, with a dna study from the
crime scene proving it wasn't him. This confirms my opinion that evidence plays
a significant role in wrongful convictions and that the criminal justice system
can never be just unless these concerns are addressed.
Things can't be made right in many of these miscarriages of justice. Derek
Bentley, for example, was hung in 1953, years before he was cleared of his
crimes, demonstrating that justice can never be denied. Stefan Kiszuo spent
the majority of his life in prison after his conviction was overturned in 1992. He
died in 1993, therefore he spent the majority of his life in prison. Sean Hodgson,
who was released from prison in 2009 and died in 2012, was a similar case.
Things have been put right for some miscarriages of justice, however. The
convictions of the Guildford four were overturned by the court of appeal in 1989,
and they have since led regular lives, whilst the Birmingham six were released
in 1991 after their second appeal. They had the chance to live anew in these two
circumstances. As a result, I've come to the conclusion that most judicial errors
can never be rectified, and people often live their lives in the shadow of their
convictions. As a result, despite the criminal justice system's best efforts, it is
still overwhelmingly unjust.
