A.C 3.2
Miscarriages :
- misconvictions where the person didn't deserve the verdict
- Physical evidence (adam scott)
- Eyewitness testimony (Stephen Kisko)
- Expert witness (Sally Clark) - birmingham 6
- Disclosure (Sally Clark)
- Confessions
Just verdict :
- Fully deserved verdict and lawful
- Double jeopardy (ann mings)
- Disclosure
- Jury “perverse” decisions - jury gave verdict which does not match the
evidence given in court (R v Owen)
Safe verdict :
- All evidence heard and taken into consideration
- Disclosure (sally clark - didn't get a safe verdict)
- Situational factors (judith ward - psychiatric problems)
Just sentencing :
- A sentence which is seen to be fitting for the crime being committed
- Unruly scheme
- Too soft/lenient (Reynard Sinaga didnt get a just sentence but
developed into one when his sentence was increased from 30-40 years
through the unruly lenient scheme)
- Too harsh
- Correct (Wayne Couzens- went for appeal but nothing was changed)
, A.C 3.2
15 Marks - 4 sections
Draw conclusions from information.
Miscarriages -
Miscarriages of justice occur commonly. Miscarriages are when the justice
system misconvicts someone who didnt commit the crime. This is shown multiple
times in relevant case studies. 143 miscarriages (41%) were due to unreliable
witness testimony, 91 miscarriages (26%) were due to false or unreliable
confessions, 75 miscarriages (22%) were due to false or unreliable forensic
evidence, and 73 miscarriages (21%) were due to inadequate disclosure (found
on the exiter university law department database). A conclusion I can draw from
this is that expert witnesses can mislead the jury. Ive looked into multiple cases of
miscarriages of justice including a case study which contributes to the 143 (41%)
miscarriages is the sally clark case. Sally clark was convicted for the murder of
her two infant sons, after arguing they both died from SIDS (sudden infant death
syndrome). The defence , Sir Roy Meadows argued the chance of both children
dying from SIDS was 1/73 million. This was an expert witness which led to a
wrong misconviction. Expert witnesses are known to be reliable as they are high
up/an expert in their field. Sir Roy Meadows had a very high reputation in court
which made him trustworthy when it came to this case. However it was found
these statistics were not accurate and it was actually very more likely for both first
and second born of the family to have SIDS. His mistake led to the conviction of
sally clark who was in prison for 3+ years. A conclusion I can draw from this is
that expert witnesses have a certain power in the courtroom and therefore can
mislead the jury.
A conclusion I can also draw is that the police are corrupt by overriding the laws
rules to get a conviction even if they convict an innocent person. This is shown
through the Stefan Kiszko case. Stefan Kiszko was convicted of the murder of
Lesley Molseed on 21st july 1976. Her body was found 3 days after the murder
after she was stabbed 12 times to death and the killer had ejaculated on her
underwear on 5th October 1975. The police took statements from 6000 people,
including some girls from rochdale who stated they had seen a man exposing
himself during the weeks before Lesleys murder as well as people stating
vehicles in the car park near where the body was found. Two girls making a
statement identified the exposed man as Stefan Kiszko. The police thought he
fitted the profile created for the offender. They ignored other inquiries pointing to
Miscarriages :
- misconvictions where the person didn't deserve the verdict
- Physical evidence (adam scott)
- Eyewitness testimony (Stephen Kisko)
- Expert witness (Sally Clark) - birmingham 6
- Disclosure (Sally Clark)
- Confessions
Just verdict :
- Fully deserved verdict and lawful
- Double jeopardy (ann mings)
- Disclosure
- Jury “perverse” decisions - jury gave verdict which does not match the
evidence given in court (R v Owen)
Safe verdict :
- All evidence heard and taken into consideration
- Disclosure (sally clark - didn't get a safe verdict)
- Situational factors (judith ward - psychiatric problems)
Just sentencing :
- A sentence which is seen to be fitting for the crime being committed
- Unruly scheme
- Too soft/lenient (Reynard Sinaga didnt get a just sentence but
developed into one when his sentence was increased from 30-40 years
through the unruly lenient scheme)
- Too harsh
- Correct (Wayne Couzens- went for appeal but nothing was changed)
, A.C 3.2
15 Marks - 4 sections
Draw conclusions from information.
Miscarriages -
Miscarriages of justice occur commonly. Miscarriages are when the justice
system misconvicts someone who didnt commit the crime. This is shown multiple
times in relevant case studies. 143 miscarriages (41%) were due to unreliable
witness testimony, 91 miscarriages (26%) were due to false or unreliable
confessions, 75 miscarriages (22%) were due to false or unreliable forensic
evidence, and 73 miscarriages (21%) were due to inadequate disclosure (found
on the exiter university law department database). A conclusion I can draw from
this is that expert witnesses can mislead the jury. Ive looked into multiple cases of
miscarriages of justice including a case study which contributes to the 143 (41%)
miscarriages is the sally clark case. Sally clark was convicted for the murder of
her two infant sons, after arguing they both died from SIDS (sudden infant death
syndrome). The defence , Sir Roy Meadows argued the chance of both children
dying from SIDS was 1/73 million. This was an expert witness which led to a
wrong misconviction. Expert witnesses are known to be reliable as they are high
up/an expert in their field. Sir Roy Meadows had a very high reputation in court
which made him trustworthy when it came to this case. However it was found
these statistics were not accurate and it was actually very more likely for both first
and second born of the family to have SIDS. His mistake led to the conviction of
sally clark who was in prison for 3+ years. A conclusion I can draw from this is
that expert witnesses have a certain power in the courtroom and therefore can
mislead the jury.
A conclusion I can also draw is that the police are corrupt by overriding the laws
rules to get a conviction even if they convict an innocent person. This is shown
through the Stefan Kiszko case. Stefan Kiszko was convicted of the murder of
Lesley Molseed on 21st july 1976. Her body was found 3 days after the murder
after she was stabbed 12 times to death and the killer had ejaculated on her
underwear on 5th October 1975. The police took statements from 6000 people,
including some girls from rochdale who stated they had seen a man exposing
himself during the weeks before Lesleys murder as well as people stating
vehicles in the car park near where the body was found. Two girls making a
statement identified the exposed man as Stefan Kiszko. The police thought he
fitted the profile created for the offender. They ignored other inquiries pointing to
