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A miscarriage of justice is primarily the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime that he or she did not commit.
Most criminal justice systems have some means to overturn, or "quash", a wrongful conviction, but this is often difficult to achieve. The most serious instances occur when a wrongful conviction is not overturned for several years, or until after the innocent person has been executed or died in jail.
"Miscarriage of justice" is sometimes synonymous with wrongful conviction, referring to a conviction reached in an unfair or disputed trial.
In recent years, DNA evidence has been used to clear many people falsely convicted.
Causes of miscarriages of justice include:
Spending years in prison often has an effect on the person and their family that is irreversible and substantial.Reflecting Scotland's own legal system, which differs from that of the rest of the United Kingdom, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) was established in April 1999. All cases accepted by the SCCRC are subjected, supposedly, to a robust and thoroughly impartial review before a decision on whether or not to refer to the High Court of Justiciary is taken.
“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides.
Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
To remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all."
Elie Wiesel Nobel Prize for Peace in 1986.
Let the Bells of Freedom Sing, Sung By Paddy Hill, formerly from Birmingham 6 and Alabama 3. Used with permission from Paddy.