A Long Walk to Justice

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realizing that all along they are being directed from behind. (From Mandela's memoirs, Long Walk to

Are all miscarriages corrected? I’m sure they’re not. But the question I pose when challenged by critics is, “what’s your alternative?”’ She stresses investigation is the crucial part of uncovering such cases, and the CCRC’s power to obtain documents and compel witness statements was what got most innocent people out of jail. The CCRC is a symbol that we’ve done something about miscarriages of justice. But the system is still broken – the criminal justice system is not looking for truth. It’s doesn’t matter what you’ve done, it’s what they can prove you’ve done.’

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Over the last decade, legal bodies, MPs of all parties and even parliament’s justice select committee have called for a more open and independent system, such as a CCRC, to look at possible wrongful convictions. The main opposition party in Parliament, New Zealand’s Labour Party, has recently supported establishing a CCRC. I have, until now, chosen to ignore the personal comments posted here, on the grounds that they are of no bearing on the discussions at hand. This latest post, however, leaves me no option but to respond. Mr Middleton was acquitted. The law is, strictly speaking, unconcerned with guilt or innocence. Its concern is conviction or acquittal.’ I’d certainly like to see the (CCRC) model taken up. I’ve yet to see what the barriers are and what’s stopping it. I assume it must be political. But my advice to those that object to it is – dip your toe in the water. You have nothing to fear by the creation of an independent commission. I suspect they will probably only be persuaded of that, not by speaking to us, but by speaking to the senior judiciary and politicians in Scotland. We’ve never felt we were anything but a welcome addition to the justice system.’ Fortunately, Paddy Hill and the others wrongly convicted of the Birmingham bombings weren’t hanged. Fortunately, English decisionmakers looked beyond Denning’s brutal simplicity for answers and sought to establish a body that would correct miscarriages of justice rather than bury them.

Ever since the Arthur Allan Thomas case in the 1970s, where police planted evidence to convict an innocent man, it has been clear our justice system doesn’t always get it right. The EAC is mandated to prosecute the person(s) most responsible for international crimes committed in Chad between June 7, 1982 and December 1, 1990. This court is the first ad hoc tribunal to be established under the umbrella of a regional political body rather than the United Nations. It is also unprecedented in that it is the first regional court with criminal jurisdiction. Hissène Habré took power in Chad through a military coup and reigned over the country from June 1982 until his fall from power on December 1, 1990. His regime is believed to be responsible for the death or disappearance of nearly 40,000 people, victims of a repressive system of government and atrocious crimes allegedly committed while he was in power. The English CCRC twice rejected Nealon’s applications and only after a third approach did they refer it to the Court of Appeal, which quashed his conviction. Is it the perfect model? Well, I don’t think there is a perfect model. But I think it’s a far better model than the models that presently exist in other countries.’There are many criticisms of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy process: it doesn’t investigate cases; it isn’t a dedicated unit with specific expertise in these cases; its operation isn’t transparent; it runs the risk of public pressure and political interference because of the Justice Minister’s involvement; that political involvement contravenes the traditional separation of powers between judiciary and executive; crucial decisions are left in the hands of a few bureaucrats; the referral rate is very low, with a sense it favours finality over justice; only a few QCs are used to review cases; and cases take too long to be reviewed – Scott Watson, convicted of murdering Ben Smart and Olivia Hope, waited four years for a decision.