The Miscarriage of Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Miscarriage of Justice - Essay Example A miscarriage of justice may condemn an innocent person to punishment for a crime he/she may not have committed. While there may be a miscarriage of justice in other areas as well, it always has the most serious consequences of criminal convictions since the punishment may involve long terms or imprisonment or even execution. Wrongful convictions are difficult to overturn and although there are provisions for appeal under the law, an innocent person may suffer needless imprisonment, incarceration or even death, when a miscarriage of justice occurs. In many instances, such wrongful convictions may also be the result of unfair trials, the manipulation or fabrication of evidence or the framing of an innocent party through false testimonies and misdirection of judicial authorities. An innocent person wrongly convicted of a crime he/she did not commit, may face the consequences even after a wrongful conviction has been overturned because it is impossible to reverse the effects of punishme nt already suffered or the torment and hardship that may have been endured by the innocent person and his/her family. The most heart-rending aspect of a miscarriage of justice occurs when an innocent person is wrongfully convicted and put to death. The case of Judith Theresa3 is one of the best examples of the miscarriage of justice in terms of legal impropriety in the disclosure of material evidence and the role of experts and forensic scientists in providing evidence. In this case, a woman was convicted of being a terrorist on the grounds that nitroglycerine was discovered on her property. Defendant was convicted and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, of which 17 had already been served when the Appeal was filed on the grounds of failure of timely disclosure. The problem, in this case, was the withholding of information by the forensic scientists who were working for the Government and believing that it was their duty to aid the police, they withheld information which they believed might prove damaging to the Prosecution’s case.