Justice and Injustice in the Criminal Justice System

Lecture focuses on justice and injustice within the criminal justice system.
Will include case studies to understand how injustices occur.
In New Zealand, like other Western democracies, there are safeguards to protect against wrongful convictions.

Innocent until proven guilty: individuals are treated as innocent until formally convicted.
High burden of proof: criminal cases require proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Civil court standard: civil cases have a lower standard of proof (balance of probabilities) due to lower stakes.
Life Sentence: Individuals may be released on parole, but the sentence remains for life, with ongoing conditions and potential recall to prison.
Exception: only one person in New Zealand, the mosque terrorist, will never be released.

It is better that 10 guilty persons escape than one innocent person suffers.
Principle: Western societies prioritize avoiding wrongful convictions, originating from the Enlightenment.

Despite safeguards, injustices occur.
US Exonerations: Approximately 2,000 people exonerated since 1989, having served an average of 8.8 years.
Prisons are harsh environments, making wrongful imprisonment a significant injustice.
Death Penalty: 4.1% of death row inmates have been proven innocent, arguing against capital punishment.
Death penalty's deterrence: States with and without the death penalty show similar murder rates.
Murders: often spur-of-the-moment acts, not deterred by the death penalty. Certainty of being caught is a deterrent.
Famous Cases: Guildford Four (In the Name of the Father) and Reuben Carter (The Hurricane).

Sir Thomas Thorpe: Claimed that about 20 people might be innocent in New Zealand prisons.

Double homicide: Jeanette and Harvey Crew were murdered, but bodies were initially missing.
Prime suspect: Initially Jeanette's father, later Arthur Allen Thomas, a farmer.
Police: Focused on Arthur Allen Thomas, but many felt uneasy about the case.
Evidence: Shell casing was allegedly planted by police officers Bruce Dutton and Leonard Johnston.
Outcome: Arthur Allen Thomas was freed and compensated, but controversy remains.

Young child sexually assaulted: The child identified David Dougherty, the next-door neighbor.
Evidence: DNA evidence later proved David Dougherty's innocence.
Commentary: David Dougherty was 100% innocent.

Tina Poore: A 17-year-old with diminished capacity, tried to falsely claim reward money.
Wrongful Conviction: Convicted of murder despite clear evidence he knew nothing about the case.
Release: Freed after 20 years due to work by Tim McKinnell and journalists.
Justice Minister's comment: triggered criticism that justice should not take 20 years.

Peter Ellis: he worked in a childcare center, a creche, and was accused of child abuse.
Allegations: Numerous, bizarre allegations emerged (forcing children to dance naked, placing them in cages or ovens).
Satanic abuse: Concerns from The US influenced the social climate in New Zealand.
Conviction: The theory that children don't lie contributed to the conviction.
Ministerial Prejudice: A government minister stated that homosexuality implied a predilection to pedophilia.
Exoneration: Exonerated in 2022, three years after his death, following a Supreme Court appeal.

David Bain: Was found guilty. The speaker seems to think that David Bain is guilty, but there are several arguments that proof otherwise.
Evidence: Police failed to swab hands for gunshot residue.

Intentions: Often with good intentions, sometimes unconscious bias.
Reid Technique: Interrogation technique used to pressure suspects, now banned in most jurisdictions.