Miscarriages of Justice
in the UK and the USA
As a prelude to an essay I plan to publish here comparing the merits
of the Islamic Shari'a law and various western legal systems, I have
published here details of well-known miscarriages of justice which have
taken place in the UK and the US. While everyone knows about some
famous incidents (Birmingham Six, Guildford Four, Steven Downing etc),
a lot of people don't know that there are dozens, possibly hundreds,
of men and woman in British and American jails for crimes (particularly
murders) which either they did not commit - or which never actually
happened. The reasons are numerous: police corruption, prejudice in
the judiciary, faulty science, and the gullibility of juries are the main
culprits. It is imperative that all of the people mentioned below
are released, immediately, as their convictions are manifestly unsafe.
(A few solved cases have been mentioned also, for information and
illustration purposes.)
General MOJ sites
For information on the catastrophic MOJs of the 1970s and 1980s, see
"Innocent" and "Miscarriages of Justice UK".
UK cases
- Sally Clark: This
distressing UK case involves a solicitor (for US readers, this is a kind of lawyer), two of whose
children died in succession, probably from Staphylococcus A infections. Because of faulty statistical evidence put
forward by one Roy Meadows (who has been involved in numerous other cases,
resulting in at least two imprisonments and tearing many more families apart)
she was given two life sentences for murder in 1999. (She was freed
on appeal in Jan 2003.)
- Angela Cannings:
A similar case which happened in April 2002. Also jailed for double murder. Cannings
has been attacked by fellow prisoners while in jail, and was hospitalised for burns.
- Inside and Innocent - Susan May: Susan May was jailed
in 1993 for murdering her aunt, from whom she stood to inherit money. In fact,
there is evidence of a bungled burglary. She has been inside for nearly 10 years
and is now appealing to the European Court.
Roy Meadow - This is It! - Currently still a knight of the realm in the UK - not for long,
God willing! - his testimonies, based on dodgy science and statistics, helped put
Cannings and Clark behind bars. The File on 4 programme linked-to above also
mentions that his insinuations have resulted in children being snatched from
innocent mothers at 25 minutes of age! However, Ken Norman of the Portia campaign
also believes him to be a murderer!
Read the story here.
Mothers Against Munchausen's by Proxy
Accusations (MAMA) - Campaigning against the Meadows mafia in the US.
US Cases
- Lacresha Murray: This
young girl was the victim of a appalling, blatant miscarriage of justice in Texas
in 1996, which dragged on until 2001. She was accused of killing a 2-year-old girl
who died of internal injuries while she was nearby. The 11-year-old girl
(with an IQ of 77 and a mental age of about 8) was given
first a 20-year sentence, then a 25-year sentence, in two ridiculous trials where
she was hardly defended at all. She was released conditionally in 1999, and finally
cleared of all charges (permanently) in 2001. The really staggering thing about this
disaster is that many of the people involved are still in office!
- Tabitha Pollock: Perhaps an even more idiotic MOJ than the above (if
that's possible). Ms Pollock was jailed in Illinois for a murder committed by
her boyfriend while she was asleep, and her boyfriend, who confessed, admitted
that Pollock had no idea about his violent tendencies. She got 36 years for
first-degree murder, on the grounds that she should have anticipated the
crime! She was only released after her letter to a law school was dug out by chance
and a law student took the case to the Illinois Supreme Court, where "failure to
anticipate" was found to have no basis in law. This happened last month, after
seven years in jail.
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