The Paper argues, contrary to a straightforward reading, that the presumption of innocence and accompanying principles - the burden of proof on the prosecution to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt - acts in reality against the interests of those who might be innocent at every stage of the criminal justice process. This is because the “presumption”, in effect, renders suspects of crime passive and generally inactive whilst the “burden” places pressure on the police and prosecution to chip away at the presumed innocent status and construct cases that might obtain a conviction, rendering innocent victims vulnerable to wrongful convictions. This signals that the presumption of innocence needs to be understood in terms of the distinction between theory and reality. As it currently works in practise the presumption does not protect against wrongful convictions as is widely supposed. In fact, it can actually facilitate them. Alternatively, reflecting on the investigative approach of the University of Bristol Innocence Project, it is argued that the innocent will be better protected against wrongful conviction only when all resources and efforts are orientated towards subjecting the evidence claimed to indicate guilt to critical interrogation to see if it can be substantiated.
Dr Michael Naughton delivers seminar paper at Centre for Criminological Research, University of Sheffield, 8 Feb.
22 January 2012
Dr Michael Naughton, Senior Lecturer in the Law School and SPAIS, and Director of the Innocence Network UK (INUK) at the University of Bristol, will deliver a seminar on 'How the Presumption of Innocence Renders the Innocent Vulnerable to Wrongful Convictions' at the Centre for Criminological Research, University of Sheffield on February 8, 2012.
Dr Michael Naughton, Senior Lecturer in the Law School and SPAIS, and Director of the Innocence Network UK (INUK) at the University of Bristol, will deliver a seminar paper on 'How the Presumption of Innocence Renders the Innocent Vulnerable to Wrongful Convictions' at the
Centre for Criminological Research, University of Sheffield on February 8, 2012.
Further information
Dr Michael Naughton, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Law and School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies (SPAIS), University of Bristol. He has written extensively on issues related to miscarriages of justice for academic journals, broadsheet newspapers and other specialist publications. His recent academic publications include: 'How the Presumption of Innocence Renders the Innocent Vulnerable to Wrongful Convictions' Irish Journal of Legal Studies, 2(1): 40-54 (2011); 'The need for caution in the use of DNA evidence to avoid convicting the innocent', International Journal of Evidence and Proof, 15(3): 245-257 (2011 with Gabe Tan); ‘The Right to Access DNA Testing by Alleged Innocent Victims of Wrongful Convictions in the UK?’ International Journal of Evidence & Proof, 14(4): 326-345 (2010 with Gabe Tan); 'Does the NOMS [National Offender Management Service] Risk Assessment Bubble Have to Burst for Prisoners Who May be Innocent to Make Progress?' Howard Journal of Criminal Justice 48 (4): 357-372. (2009); ''Factual Innocence versus Legal Guilt: The Need for a New Pair of Spectacles to view the Problem of Life-Sentenced Prisoners Maintaining Innocence' Prison Service Journal, 177, May (2008). He is the author of Claims of Innocence: An introduction to wrongful convictions and how they might be challenged (University of Bristol, 2010), Criminal Cases Review Commission: Hope for the Innocent? (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) and Rethinking Miscarriages of Justice: Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007). He is the Founder and Director of the Innocence Network UK (INUK), an organisation to facilitate casework, and communications in the area of wrongful convictions that has 25+ member innocence projects in UK universities working on 100+ cases of alleged wrongful convictions. He is Founder and Director of the University of Bristol Innocence Project, the first innocence project in the UK, through which he directs investigations into cases of alleged wrongful imprisonment on a pro bono basis.
Please contact
Dr Michael Naughton for further information.