Judge for Yourself is a book about the British legal system's appalling number of miscarriages of justice. Even more interestingly, it is an exploration of how such mistakes are allowed to continue, and how, despite an often blatant lack of evidence against them, many people have been - and still are - languishing in jail for crimes they did not commit.
Naylor starts from an irrefutable premise: that any system of justice, being man made, is prone to error. That is not, she argues, a problem per se; the problem lies in the fact that the Establishment, in its indifference, arrogance and incompetence, refuses to take any serious action to correct these errors and prevent them from happening in the future.
The book turns the police and judicial system upside down and looks at the odds stacked against the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
It shows the lack of checks on the police, the subjective side to forensic evidence, the difficulty of legal appeals and the narrowness of the establishment. There are startling facts: between 1969 and 1999 more than 1,000 people were killed while in custody but not one officer of the law has been successfully prosecuted.
At the core of the book are the devastating stories of three current prisoners and three former inmates. These include testimonies from 40-year old Paul Blackburn, who had been locked up from the age of 14 for 25 years, and Robert Brown, an innocent man who served 25 years for murder.
Naylor's writing is clear, direct and brisk, making her book highly readable.
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Judge for Yourself Book Review
What Justice?
Matt Baker @ The Big Issue
There's been some impressive noises in recent months about the modernisation of the criminal justice system.
Reforms are well under way, court technology and the way in which evidence can be given through video links is improving rapidly and public confidence in British justice is said to be returning.
But of course, all these Government messages come without the following caveat. It's possible that you could get locked up in Britain for a crime you did not commit. Anyone who doubts this should read LA Naylor's remarkable analysis of a catalogue of appalling mistakes.
Judge for Yourself not only picks gaping holes in the criminal justice system but also drives home these failings and the arrogance of those that refuse to acknowledge them by showing the human cost. The lost lives, shattered families and the brave and bewildered efforts of those trying to start again after having their lives stolen from them.
It's hard to praise a book any higher than to say as many people as possible should read this. For many readers this will challenge every assumption they ever had about British justice. Because to try and balance draconian proposals for lowering standards of proof, with the human fallout from countless miscarriages of justice that Naylor conveys so brilliantly, is to be very afraid for the future of British justice.
To visit the authors website click on the following link: www.writesite.org.uk
THE BOOK PL@CE
LINKS:
Miscarriages Of Justice Organisation Scotland
Innocence Network UK
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