This book focuses on the world's first publicly-funded body- the Criminal Cases Review Commission- to review alleged miscarriages of justice, set up following notorious cases such as the Birmingham Six in the UK. Providing a critique of its operations, the book shows that its help to innocent victims of wrongful conviction is merely incidental.
Introduction; M.Naughton PART I: SETTING THE SCENE The Importance of Innocence for the Criminal Justice System; M.Naughton PART II: VOLUNTARY SECTOR PERSPECTIVES Thoughts from a Victim Support Worker; H.Kierle Challenging the Refusal to Investigate Evidence Neglected by Trial; A.Green The Failure to Live Up to its Stated Values?: The Case of Michael Attwooll and John Roden; D.Eady The Failure of the Review of the Possible Wrongful Convictions Caused by Michael Heath; S.Sekar PART III: PRACTITIONER PERSPECTIVES Historical Abuse Cases: Why They Expose the Inadequacy of the Real Possibility Test; M.Newby Only the Freshest Will Do; C.Malone Applicant Solicitors: Friends or Foes?; G.Maddocks & G.Tan The Inadequacy of Legal Aid; S.Bird PART IV: ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVES After 10 Years: An Investment in Justice?; R.Nobles & D.Schiff Real Possibility or Fat Chance?; K.Kerrigan Press and Release: UK News Coverage of the CCRC Since 1996; P.Mason The CCRC as an Option for Canada: Forwards or Backwards?; C.Walker & K.Campbell A View from the United States; R.Schehr PART V: CONCLUSION Conclusion; M.Naughton References Index
