Misjustice: How British Law is Failing Women

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Liam Holden was convicted of murdering a British soldier in Northern Ireland in 1973 during The Troubles. Holden later claimed to have been forced to sign a confession by soldiers who tortured and threatened to shoot him. He became the last person ever sentenced to death by a British court (while the death penalty had been abolished in Great Britain in 1965, it was retained in Northern Ireland until July 1973). After the death penalty was abolished in Northern Ireland, Holden's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He was released on license in 1989. In 2012, an appeals court overturned his conviction. [135] [136] Peter Ellis was convicted in 1993 on 16 counts of sexual offending involving children in his care at the Christchurch Civic Creche around the time of the day-care sex-abuse hysteria. After unsuccessful appeals and serving seven years of his ten year sentence, Ellis was released in February 2000, continuing to maintain his innocence. In 2019, he appealed to the Supreme Court to have his conviction overturned. Although he died of cancer before the appeal could be heard, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal in the interest of justice and delivered a judgment in October 2022. The Court quashed Ellis' convictions. It found there were problems with the evidence of the main prosecution witness, a psychiatrist, and the jury had not been fairly informed of the risk of contamination of the children's evidence. [103]

McLeod-Lindsay was exonerated after a further review by another blood spatter pattern expert determined that the pattern was likely caused by transfer when he cradled his wife rather than by blows. [14] Amanda Knox murder conviction overturned by Italy's highest court". Associated Press. March 27, 2015 . Retrieved March 27, 2015. Horst Arnold was a sports and biology teacher at the August Zinn comprehensive school in Reichelsheim. He was accused by a female colleague, Heidi K., of having raped her, and based on her testimony he was sentenced to five years of prison. Only after he was freed, an equal opportunity commissioner (who, at first, supported Heidi K. before and during the trial) noticed several contradictions in her stories. In prison, Arnold continued to deny the crime and refused therapy sessions, which was why he was denied early leave on parole. In the retrial, Arnold was exonerated, and in 2013, Heidi K. was sentenced to five years and six months. a b Pilkington, Ed (November 14, 2007). "Ex-prisoners recount their stories ahead of UN meeting to discuss a global ban on capital punishment". The Guardian . Retrieved April 13, 2018. It was in 2012 when the deceased celebrity entertainer Jimmy Savile was exposed as a paedophile and gross abuser of women and children that we seemed to reach a tipping point. As more cases emerged, suddenly the institutions – from the BBC to Parliament, from hospitals and schools to young offender institutions, from local authorities to universities and churches, all of which had colluded in keeping the lid on such crimes – were in retreat. Every one of these pillars of rectitude had put institutional reputation ahead of safeguarding women and children. The outrage was so deeply felt and the torrent of memories, anger and sorrow so great that a public debate raged, of a kind that had never taken place before. A public inquiry was set up by the then Home Secretary, Theresa May, in recognition of the extent of the problem. I kept hearing the same questions. How could so many predators have got away with it? Why did people do nothing? Was it because things were different then?

Zhang Yuhuan maintained he was tortured by police and forced to confess to the murder of two young boys in 1993. In March 2019 the high court agreed to retry the case and in July provincial prosecutors recommended Mr Zhang be acquitted based on insufficient evidence. He walked free in August 2020. The killer of the two boys in 1993 remains unknown. [61] Two brothers, aged 5 and 7 at the time, were falsely accused of having caused the death of Kevin Hjalmarsson. Although the brothers were too young to stand trial, the police held a press conference stating the brothers had confessed to the murder, before closing the case. Following a television documentary in 2017, the case was reopened, and in 2018 the brothers were cleared of all wrongdoing. [120]

While being held in prison, Imran represented himself in his asylum claim, but didn’t succeed – reports describe his self-representation as having ‘ dire consequences‘ in this case. He was also unable to successfully challenge the lawfulness of his detention. Here, Imran and other immigration detainees like him faced a double barrier to accessing legal advice: the unfair double standard for detainees held in prisons, and the limited legal aid provision available. Donald Marshall Jr: 1971 Wrongful Murder Conviction". danielnpaul.com . Retrieved November 11, 2018. Thankfully, a High Court ruling in December 2020 stopped this legal loophole from affecting anyone else in Amy’s position – but the dire situation beforehand shows how access to legal aid can be pivotal during deeply personal and traumatic life events. The Fawcett Society is the UK’s leading membership charity campaigning for gender equality and women’s rights. If you believe in a society where no one is prevented from reaching their full potential because of their gender, join us today. Moore, Frazier (November 10, 2015). "Why are innocent Israeli citizens going to jail?". The Times of Israel . Retrieved September 19, 2017.The Cardiff Three were falsely jailed in 1990 for the murder of prostitute Lynette White in Cardiff in 1988 and later cleared on appeal due to DNA evidence. In 2003, Jeffrey Gafoor was jailed for life for the murder. Subsequently, in 2005, twelve police officers were arrested and questioned for false imprisonment, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and misconduct. In 2011, eight of the officers stood trial at Swansea Crown Court for perverting the course of justice together with three witnesses accused of perjury. However, the case collapsed, as the judge ruled the officers could not be given a fair trial due to the previous publicity. [168]

Scottish nurse who was convicted in 1974 of the murder of a patient with insulin after being inspired by the plot of A Man Called Ironside. She was released on appeal in 1975, despite three appeal court judges saying there was ample evidence to support the conviction, as the trial judge had inadvertently misled the jury in his final summary. [146] The appeal court judges said that it was an omission that "a few words could have cured". [146] Apart from the case prosecuted, another 23 cases were deemed suspicious by investigators. [147] Although acquitted, McTavish's case often is mentioned in lectures at medical colleges in Britain, and is cited in textbooks and academic papers about forensic science and medical malpractice. [148] [149] [150] McTavish, now known as Jessie Gordon, is believed to have been the inspiration for serial killer nurse Colin Norris. [146] Ben Blanchard & Robert Birsel (February 8, 2015). "China court gives out new death penalty after wrongful execution". Reuters . Retrieved February 8, 2015. The coalition, including charities, trades unions, human rights bodies and religion or belief groups, is believed to be the largest of its kind in UK history, according to Humanists UK, which established it. The Oval Four—Winston Trew, Sterling Christie, George Griffiths and Constantine Boucher—were arrested by undercover police led by DS Derek Ridgewell at Oval tube station in March 1972. They later claimed to have been beaten up in custody, but were tried and found guilty. Subsequently, a number of Ridgewell's cases were discovered to be unsound and overturned, while Ridgewell himself eventually died in prison having been convicted of stealing mail bags. In 2019 the four men's case was returned to the Appeal Court, who overturned their convictions after 47 years. [137]Courts find executed Chinese teenager 'not guilty' ". BBC News. December 15, 2014 . Retrieved April 27, 2016. Crown to appeal Morin's acquittal". Ottawa Citizen. March 6, 1986. p.A–12 . Retrieved August 16, 2010. Cardinal Pell, top advisor to Pope Francis, found guilty of 'historical sexual offenses' ". America Magazine. December 12, 2018 . Retrieved December 13, 2018.

Man arrested for Putten murder". DutchNews.nl (in English). May 20, 2008 . Retrieved January 10, 2017. George Kelly was executed in 1950 for the 1949 murder of the manager (and his assistant) of the Cameo Cinema in Liverpool, during a robbery gone wrong. The case became known as the Cameo murder. Kelly's conviction was overturned in 2003. Another man, Donald Johnson, had confessed to the crime but the police bungled Johnson's case and had not divulged his confession at Kelly's trial. [133]a b Stephanie Kirchgaessner. "Meredith Kercher murder: Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito acquitted". The Guardian . Retrieved March 28, 2015. Wall was convicted on the basis of false allegations by Regina Walsh (psychiatric history) and Patricia Phelan (history of false accusations). The first woman in the history of the Irish State to be convicted of rape, the first person to receive a life sentence for rape and the only person in the history of the state to be convicted on repressed memory evidence.