Originally Posted by
Robin Friday's Ghost
At the turn of the millennium I was called to jury duty at Newport Crown Court. The case I was selected for was a pre-trial hearing to assess whether a postmaster from Newport was fit to stand trial on charges of embezzlement. We heard from an expert witness that he had mental problems - whether these were brought on by the charges or pre-existing I don't know. I was inclined to accept their advice but the jury debate was a real eye-opener - one woman said 'oh yeah, I saw this on Eastenders. He's trying it on'.
Anyway, long story short, I wouldn't agree with the majority that he was fit to stand trial. Initially I was on my own but one woman then changed sides. The judge accepted a majority verdict though and he went to trial and was later found guilty and jailed.
When this scandal came to light I did think of looking into his case to see if he had been wrongly convicted but then decided I'd rather not know, even though I hadn't really been responsible.
British justice eh?
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