LOUISE Woodward is a victim of the accident-prone jury system which asked 12 individuals to say if they think that the person on trial is guilty or not guilty.
That seems fair. But it is not so simple, for these 12 people are put in a room and told to arrive at a unanimous decision.
In the case of Louise, it may be that nine people voted not guilty and the other three guilty. Then it becomes a battle with the dominant members of the jury browbeating the others until finally they cannot take any more and they, against their better judgment, agree to fall into line.
This is not justice and, in some cases, little better than tossing a coin.
After the trial the jury should be asked for their verdict without any consultation with each other. They should write on a paper guilty or not guilty.
The clerk of the court should collect the papers and give them to the judge. With this system Louise Woodward may now be home in Elton, Cheshire.
LEN RUSHTON, Bowland House, Larkhill, Blackburn.
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