Do juries really work? Terry Waite puts justice on trial

By Tony Watts - Editor - 12/09/2008

The Crown Court at Woolwich has a certain notoriety as it is situated just outside the Maximum Security Prison at Belmarsh. The Court, which is linked to the Prison by an underground passageway, is the venue where many high security prisoners are tried.

 

I have been associated with Prisons in one way or another for over fifty years. As one of the very first Trustees of the Butler Trust I keep in touch with developments throughout the country. The trust was set up over twenty years ago in memory of the late RAB Butler, the one time Home Secretary, and gives awards to those who do significant work within the prisons of the UK. Each year a new group of award winners gather at Buckingham Palace where Princess Anne, the Royal Patron gives out the awards.

 

The Trust has done a lot over the years to boost the moral and improve the performance of those who do a difficult and demanding job on our behalf.

 

However, back to the Crown Court.

 

For the past couple of weeks I have been on Jury Service. Many jurors complain about the time they spend waiting around and - admittedly - we did have to spend some hours waiting for a case or waiting for legal points to be discussed. I didn’t complain as I do recognize that it really is a complicated job to keep several courts running and dealing with complex situations. In one case we spent three days listening to evidence and then the defendant changed his plea from Not Guilty to Guilty!

 

This wasted everyone’s time but at least the system was fair and that is the overriding impression I came away with. We probably do have one of the fairest judicial systems in the world. As one of my legal friends put it to me when I discussed my experience with him, “More often than not Jurors get it right”. In another case we heard, our unanimous verdict was “Not Guilty” as we all agreed that there was insufficient evidence to convict. This led me to think that there might be a case for introducing into the English System that which already exists in Scotland and that is, the verdict of “Not Proven”.

 

I have long believed that we have some of the finest judges in the world and I only wish that our politicians would stop tinkering with the system and have faith in the professionals. I suspect that government-imposed targets are playing havoc not only with the legal system but with education and health also. As for our prisons, they are full of people who ought not to be there. A very high proportion of prisoners are suffering from mental illness or severe personality disorder and yet they are locked up simply because there is no other way to deal with them.

 

Thank goodness that, at long last, more and more Police Forces are looking carefully at Restorative Justice Schemes which - if properly implemented - would save massive blocks of court time as well as providing substantial relief for you and me: the hard-hit taxpayers.