Criminal Justice

First of all, after two episodes, I have to say fantastic.

Has it changed my mind about anything?

No!

Do I hope it has changed yours?

Yes!

The plot is interesting (if inaccurate in some ways) in that the lead character arrives at his predicament in a very unusual way. Despite the fact that the viewer knows it to be true, if you told that story down the pub, you would be laughed at. That does not mean that it could not be true, weirder things have happened to me (though not involving sex), and that he can't remember the murder so does not know if he did it.

Now, moving on:

We have the situation where the police seem to take the line of least resistance. Crucially the lead investigator has doubts but not the man power to investigate what appears to be an open and shut case.

We have lawyers who encourage the defendant to be silent, and who weigh up the odds on the basis of odds alone.

The truth seems to be a lost irrelevance.

Then the other thing is prison.

I am all in favour of locking up criminals. I am even in favour of remand subject to many caveats.

What I am clear on is that prison does not work. It is entirely dysfunctional and needs urgent fixing.

For a start it needs to return to the Victorian ideal of a prisoner to a cell. Secondly shower or toilet facilities can not and should not be shared. Anything else allows the rule of the bully and prevents rehabilitation.

More thoughts will appear as the series goes on.

The BBC has this.