And This is Why…

May 16, 2012 Longrider General News, General Rants, misanthropy 13

…We must never again have the death penalty.

Outlining Mr Hallam’s case, Henry Blaxland QC said: “It is our case that this appellant Sam Hallam – and I put it boldly – has been the victim of a serious miscarriage of justice brought about by a combination of manifestly unreliable identification evidence, the apparent failure of his own alibi, failure by police properly to investigate his alibi and non-disclosure by the prosecution of material that could have supported his case.”

Had we still had the death penalty, Mr Hallam would have received a pyrrhic posthumous pardon and much good it would have done him. As it is, the state has already stolen seven years of his life that he will never get back (and will doubtless charge him bed and board for the privilege) as a consequence of its rank incompetence. While we continue to have lazy, half-arsed incompetent investigations by police forces under pressure to get a conviction –  irrespective of the actual guilt of the suspect –  and a legal system that has “winners” and “losers” we must never allow the state the right to take the lives of those who lose. After all, Hallam is hardly an isolated case, is he? And that point should worry us all.

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13 Comments

  2. “Two witnesses claimed to have seen Mr Hallam at the scene of the murder near Old Street, where a mob of youths had attacked Mr Kassahun.

    But one later withdrew her evidence telling the court: “I was just looking for someone on the spot to blame.””

    Interesting phrasing – ‘someone on the spot’. So…was he at the scene, or not?

  3. “non-disclosure by the prosecution of material that could have supported his case”

    That isn’t incompetence. That is perjury.

  4. My thoughts exactly on hearing that news item, LR. Bad enough he’s lost so many years, but to have lost his life on a wrongful or unsafe conviction would make a mockery of what little claim we have left to call ourselves civilised.

  5. Non-disclosure of evidence is not only common, it is both standard and accepted practice for the police/CPS.

    I witnessed an argument between two men (A & B) a few months ago, nothing more than calling each other names really but instigated by B who was patently extremely drunk. After a month I heard one of the men A, both of whom I am only peripherally aware of, had been charged with assaulting B. Being a ‘good citisen’ I approached the police to report what I had actually witnessed. The officers refused point blank to even record my statement as it ‘contradicted their case’. They then insinuated I was either mistaken or lying.

    Understandably I felt aggrieved at this and wrote to the chief constable, to be told that the police, as standard practice and policy, only gather and report such evidence as will support their case. I have written to the Minister for Police to ask for his opinion, so far without a response.

    So ‘Justice’ in this country is now reliant on the hope that a person charged with a crime has a solicitor willing to send out a private investigator to locate witnesses and evidence which the police either ‘couldn’t be bothered’ to report, or even concealed because it challenged the case they put to the courts.

    God help us all!!!!

  6. Oh, after I first reported to the police I challenged the officers, politely then and there as I was confused at their response, and they contacted both their sergeant and the CPS to confirm that my statement was ‘not wanted’. They confirmed this and instructed him to inform me that if I wished to make a statement I should do so to A’s solicitor, of course they refused to say who that was!

    It makes you wonder how any conviction can be considered safe.

  7. There will always be cases against reintroduction of the Death Penalty…quite right too… but what about the Slam Dunkers ?

    Perhaps better to make Life actually mean Whole Of Life, which can be repealed where innocence is proven beyond doubt. I don’t mean by “proven” by legal technicality, either.

  8. I am often apalled by those of the opinion that is is OK to send the wrong to the gallows man a few of times so long as we can execute all those who really are guilty.

    My usual challenge of “Would you go quietly to the gallows if you were that wrong man?” sadly does not seem to change many such opinions.

    I am told that the majority of voters are still in favor of murder by law – this is one of the few instances where I am happy to be against democracy.

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