Victims of miscarriages of justice will have to prove their innocence in
future or endure damaged reputations, human rights groups and Labour's
parliamentary frontbench are warning.
None of the Birmingham Six or Guildford Four, who spent more than 10 years in
jail having been wrongfully convicted of pub bombings in the 1970s, would be
entitled to payments under government reforms that will narrow the test for
compensation, according to opponents.
Proposed changes attached
to the antisocial behaviour, crime and policing bill
governing compensation – due to come before the Commons on Monday – could be
ruled illegal by the courts, it is also claimed.
The government's amendment to section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988
would redefine the compensation test for a miscarriage of justice, limiting it
to 'if and only if the new or newly discovered fact shows beyond reasonable
doubt that the person was innocent of the offence'.
Read more here.
No comments:
Post a Comment