This week it was announced that life sentences for the murder disabled and transgender victims will be brought up to the same level as other ‘hate crimes’. It means judges will use a 30 year starting point – rather than 15 – for deciding the minimum term to be served before parole. This brings it …
Author archives: murdermap
On ‘Racist Murders’: Evidence Required
The murder of Danny O’Shea in east London last week highlighted one particularly divisive issue – when can you classify a murder as racially aggravated? There have been questions – particularly from what you might call ‘right wing organisations’ such as the BNP – as to what exactly distinguishes the murder of a black victim …
Contempt of Court: Open Justice?
The idea behind the 1981 Contempt of Court Act was pretty honourable. Everybody deserves a fair trial and to have their guilt decided by a jury rather than be convicted by the ‘Press’. Since then it has come under increasing pressure from the right to freedom of expression, first in the printed media and more …
Jury Go Home
Quiz question: In what year were jurors first allowed to go home while deliberating their verdicts instead of being shut up in a hotel? It’s not as long ago as you might think. Or perhaps you believe the quarantining of jurors should never have been abandoned, given the supposed new dangers of prejudice via Twitter …
The Jury: Perverting the Course of Justice
Forget the legal inaccuracies, the irrelevant sub-plots and the intrusive commercial breaks. What really killed off ITV’s The Jury was a lack of confidence in courtroom drama. It looked promising enough. Written by the Oscar-nominated author of Frost/Nixon and The Queen, Peter Morgan, The Jury was screened over five consecutive days and starred Julie Walters …
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