Forensic identification and miscarriages of justice in England and Wales

McCartney, Carole and Walker, Clive (2014) Forensic identification and miscarriages of justice in England and Wales. In: Advances in Forensic Human Identification. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 391-408. ISBN 978-1439825143

[img] Text (Chapter text)
McCartney, Walker - Forensic Identification and Miscarriages of Justice AAM.docx - Accepted Version

Download (39kB)

Abstract

Any fair and effective criminal justice system must ensure that evidence of guilt will be decisively more convincing than the defendant’s claim to innocence. This burden on the prosecution, to satisfy the judge or jury of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, promotes an acceptance in law (if not in the popular press) that “It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer” (Blackstone, 1769: Vol. ivp.27). Despite such fundamental tenets, and despite even the sophistication of contemporary forensic science,the criminal process does still convict the innocent. While forensic science is acclaimed in the media, it has a blemished history in reality. Many infamous miscarriages of justice suffered from scientific evidence that was flawed, misrepresented, or suppressed (Walker and Starmer, 1999). “Scientific” methods of identifying criminal perpetrators have certainly advanced dramatically but are not infallible. In this chapter, we shall outline the meanings and prime causes of “miscarriage of justice,” providing examples of cases where forensic identification methods have been at the heart of miscarriages of justice. We then examine the mechanisms in England and Wales for remedying miscarriages of justice and assess their success.

Item Type: Book Section
Subjects: F400 Forensic and Archaeological Science
M200 Law by Topic
Department: Faculties > Business and Law > Northumbria Law School
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Professor Carole McCartney
Date Deposited: 18 Oct 2013 10:06
Last Modified: 11 Oct 2019 14:04
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/14065

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics