Misjustice: How British Law is Failing Women

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In June 2012, the National Registry of Exonerations, a joint project of the University of Michigan Law School and Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, initially reported 873 individual exonerations in the U.S. from January 1989 through February 2012; the report called this number "tiny" in a country with 2.3million people in prisons and jails, but asserted that there are far more false convictions than exonerations. [59] By 2015, the number of individual exonerations was reported as 1,733, with 2015 having the highest annual number of exonerations since 1989. [60] By 2019, the number had risen to 1,934 individuals. [61] 20 individuals have been exonerated while on death row due to DNA evidence. [61]

Having entered the university through a diversity programme (I was one of the few state school students on the course), I can appreciate the importance of such programmes. They couldn’t keep me there, but at least they got me there in the first place! Enshrining open justice principles by allowing for remote observers – using video and audio technology – across the vast majority of our courts and tribunals improving public access and transparency. For children who commit murder, introducing new starting points for deciding the minimum amount of time in custody based on age and seriousness of offence, and reducing the opportunities for over 18s who committed murder as a child to have their minimum term reviewed. Gross, Samuel R.; O'Brien, Barbara; Hu, Chen; Kennedy, Edward H. (May 20, 2014). "Rate of false conviction of criminal defendants who are sentenced to death". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (20): 7230–7235. Bibcode: 2014PNAS..111.7230G. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1306417111. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 4034186. PMID 24778209. Depressingly, there is not much in here that is new. That is not Helena Kennedy’s fault: it’s simply that the ways in which the law judges women different and unfairly are so deeply established.Richard Foster, the Chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), reported in October 2018 that the single biggest cause of miscarriage of justice was the failure to disclose vital evidence. [56] United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725 (1993)". U.S. Supreme Court. Harvard Law School. April 26, 1993. p.736. In our collateral review jurisprudence, the term 'miscarriage of justice' means that the defendant is actually innocent.

Vrij, Aldert (2019). "Deception and truth detection when analyzing nonverbal and verbal cues". Applied Cognitive Psychology. 33 (2): 160–167. doi: 10.1002/acp.3457. ISSN 1099-0720. S2CID 149626700. This means that large numbers of individuals have been denied access to justice because of the Government’s underspending on legal aid, which could result in tragedies for our friends and family. Daniel S. Medwed (2022). Barred: Why the Innocent Can't Get Out of Prison. Basic Books. ISBN 978-1-5416-7591-9. Haney, C. (2005). Death by Design: Capital Punishment as a Social Psychological System. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-518240-8. GOULD, JON B.; LEO, RICHARD A. (2010). "One Hundred Years Later: Wrongful Convictions After a Century of Research". The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. 100 (3): 825–868. ISSN 0091-4169. JSTOR 25766110.

Rafter, N. (1990). "The Social Construction of Crime and Crime Control". Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. 27 (4): 376–389. doi: 10.1177/0022427890027004004. S2CID 145629782. But we must look to reduce re-offending through more effective community sentences, for lower level offenders where they are appropriate. Professor Judith Shklar has written that Western philosophers tend to spend much more time discussing the concept of 'justice' rather than 'injustice'. On the other hand, she states both historical writing and fiction use instances of injustice as subject matter far more often than justice. [5] The Innocence Project says 44% of wrongful convictions are the result of faulty forensic analysis. This occurs when forensic experts inadvertently or deliberately misrepresent the significance, validity or reliability of scientific evidence. Over the years, misrepresentations have been made in the arenas of serological analysis, microscopic hair comparison, and the analysis of bite marks, shoe prints, soil, fiber, and fingerprints. [16] Overconfident experts [ edit ] Measures include widening important laws which prevent adults in ‘positions of trust’ from engaging in sexual relationships with young people under the age of 18, bringing sports coaches and religious leaders in line with other occupations such as teachers and doctors. The move follows an extensive review which raised concerns that predators could exploit the particular influence these roles can often have in a young person’s life – making them vulnerable to abuse.

This occurs in numerous ways including the concealment or destruction of exculpatory evidence; the failure to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defence; the failure to reveal that certain witnesses have been paid to testify; and the planting of incriminating evidence. An Innocence Project study found that 25% of DNA exonerations involved testimony that was known to be false by the police and another 11% involved the undisclosed use of coerced witness testimony. [31] In other words, over one third of these wrongful convictions involved prosecutorial misconduct. Maia Szalavitz (2012-02-20). "Even Babies Can Recognize What's Fair: Babies as young as 19 months are affronted when they see displays of injustice". Time . Retrieved 2016-07-14. Brown, 22, from Dudley, was diagnosed with autism at 16 and has learning disabilities and other mental health difficulties. He was convicted in 2018 of robbery, attempted robbery and perverting the course of justice, with joint enterprise forming part of the prosecution’s case. Although he moved from Jamaica to England with his family aged four, the government was preparing to deport him to Jamaica last year, after he had served three years in prison. The Home Office finally decided not to do so last month after an outcry and campaign by his family and supporters. His lawyers are still working to appeal against his conviction. Jordan CunliffeJudicial review is an indispensable mechanism for individuals to assert those rights and freedoms against the power of the state. Any government that cares about freedom and justice should celebrate and protect these vital institutions and never demean or threaten them.” Working as a high-level barrister at the very heart of the justice system, Helena Kennedy is well placed to examine whether this system is working for women. In her book, she draws on extensive experience working with women, both as victims and perpetrators of crime, and the challenges she has faced as one of the only QC female barristers. Bowcott, Owen (October 11, 2018). "Failure to disclose vital evidence in criminal cases growing, says watchdog". The Guardian . Retrieved October 11, 2018.

Content Warnings: murder, violence, rape, domestic violence, physical/emotional/sexual abuse, coercive control, misogyny, transphobia, infant death, child abuse, trauma, reference to mental illness and self-harm. This may be a difficult read for some – use caution. Rajah, Valli (2021). "Enhancing the tellability of death-row exoneree narratives: Exploring the role of rhetoric". Punishment & Society: 1–19.Sensational. As a lawyer it is an insightful and necessary read but as a woman this book puts real evidence behind the injustices we as women know so well to be true. Helena Kennedy really reinforced for me why I studied law and why an impetus for change is necessary in the criminal justice system to create greater equality. Reading this book felt almost like coming full circle as “Eve was Framed” was a book which initially inspired me to pursue a law degree, and I read this book (which is in many ways a follow-up), after completing my degree.