Justice for Some

Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Kent Roach about his book Justice for Some: A Comparative Study of Miscarriages of Justice and Wrongful Convictions.

This book defines the differing concepts of miscarriages of justice, wrongful convictions and innocence in relation to the presumption of innocence and the rationing of justice. It compares inquisitorial systems, with examples from Europe, South America and Asia to adversarial systems. It contrasts England's focus on the miscarriage of justice and the remedial institutions of the Court of Appeal and the Criminal Cases Review Commission, with the United States and China's narrower focus on proven factual innocence It highlights new laws enacted in India in 2023 that increase the risk of wrongful convictions, and details how the International Criminal Court has taken steps to reduce the risk of false guilty pleas that may have been accepted by previous international criminal courts. The book examines the roles of racist prejudice and gender stereotypes in wrongful convictions. It also examines false guilty pleas such as those in the Post Office scandal, as well as wrongful convictions for crimes that did not happen.

Kent Roach, CM, FRSC is a professor of law at the University of Toronto. He is the author of eighteen books including Canadian Policing: Why and How it Must Change, shortlisted for both the Balsillie and Donner Prizes for best book in public policy. He has conducted research for public inquiries on policing including the Arar, Air India, Ipperwash, Public Order Emergency, and Toronto Missing Persons inquiries and served as chair of the RCMP’s Management Advisory Board. He received the Molson Prize in 2017 for contributions to the social sciences and humanities.

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