Am I Right To Be Feeling This Way?
Family Life1 min ago
Can a Not Guilty verdict be appealed or reviewed.
A friend has just had her lost her GBH case in crown court against an ex who "allegedly" threw her down a flight of stairs causing serious fractures to her leg.
He had enough money to hire a top barrister who managed to block a number of things that painted his client in a bad light including previous convictions for violence.
He basically played the system modelling her to the jury as an unpredictable drunk, produced a recording of an argument which allegedly occurred up until 2 minutes before the event. This recording was on a CD and sounded like parts of audio had been cut and the worst bits left in. Bearing in mind the accused is in music production this is easily possible. The original was not disclosed.
Medical evidence supported her claim and there was a witness statement from a woman who called an ambulance after she crawled in to the street.
The accused refused to take the stand to defend himself yet still was found not guilty.
Can anything be done now? or has my faith in the British Justice system been destroyed for ever?
He had enough money to hire a top barrister who managed to block a number of things that painted his client in a bad light including previous convictions for violence.
He basically played the system modelling her to the jury as an unpredictable drunk, produced a recording of an argument which allegedly occurred up until 2 minutes before the event. This recording was on a CD and sounded like parts of audio had been cut and the worst bits left in. Bearing in mind the accused is in music production this is easily possible. The original was not disclosed.
Medical evidence supported her claim and there was a witness statement from a woman who called an ambulance after she crawled in to the street.
The accused refused to take the stand to defend himself yet still was found not guilty.
Can anything be done now? or has my faith in the British Justice system been destroyed for ever?
Answers
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The Director of Public Prosecutions can appeal the verdict but this rarely happens.
Essentially the jury were not convinced "beyond reasonable doubt" (a very high standard) that the accused was guilty based on the evidence presented to them. Unless there was a clear and demonstrable flaw in the trial process there is little that can be done. If there was such a flaw it is unlikely to have gone unaddressed by the prosecution in the trial.
Previous convictions are not usually admissible as part of the prosecution case. There are now facilities to introduce them if the defendant has a clear propensity to commit similar crimes, but this is exceptional rather than the rule.
Usually medical evidence supports the level of injuries sustained but can rarely prove who inflicted them and very often cannot show exactly how they were sustained.
It probably does not help, but you refer to "your friend's GBH" case. It is not hers. It is brought by the CPS and she is the victim and a witness. Decisions regarding the conduct of the prosecution (and any appeal if appropriate) are for the CPS to make.
Essentially the jury were not convinced "beyond reasonable doubt" (a very high standard) that the accused was guilty based on the evidence presented to them. Unless there was a clear and demonstrable flaw in the trial process there is little that can be done. If there was such a flaw it is unlikely to have gone unaddressed by the prosecution in the trial.
Previous convictions are not usually admissible as part of the prosecution case. There are now facilities to introduce them if the defendant has a clear propensity to commit similar crimes, but this is exceptional rather than the rule.
Usually medical evidence supports the level of injuries sustained but can rarely prove who inflicted them and very often cannot show exactly how they were sustained.
It probably does not help, but you refer to "your friend's GBH" case. It is not hers. It is brought by the CPS and she is the victim and a witness. Decisions regarding the conduct of the prosecution (and any appeal if appropriate) are for the CPS to make.
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