DOUBT DISMISSED: Race, Juries and Wrongful Conviction

Welcome to DOUBT DISMISSED: Race, Juries, and Wrongful Conviction! Join us on Wed May 08, 2024, at 18:00 at The City Law School, Sebastian Street, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, to discuss the findings of APPEAL's two year long investigation into majority jury verdicts, racism, classism and wrongful conviction.

Juries are a crucial safeguard against an overreaching state but they face increasing threats of abolition. In 1967, a significant change was made to the jury system, replacing unanimous verdicts with majority verdicts, where up to two jurors can disagree. APPEAL's new investigation uncovered that this change was driven by racist and classist motives, aimed at diluting the influence of working-class and racialised minority jurors amidst increasing non-white immigration into Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Majority verdicts silence up to two jurors’ voices, raising questions about their compatibility with the principle of reasonable doubt.

Juries operate behind a veil of secrecy. Little is known about how real juries deliberate or how factors like race, class, and gender influence their decisions and case outcomes. Without greater transparency upholding the integrity of the jury system remains a challenge. Don't miss this opportunity to open the BLACK BOX of jury deliberations.

WHat you can expect at the event

Contributors include:

• Nisha Waller & Naïma Sakande: Report authors and researchers
• Winston Trew: One of the wrongfully convicted “Oval Four” & former Black Power activist
• Andrew Malkinson: Wrongfully imprisoned for 17 years and recently exonerated
• Professor Allen-Bell: Researcher behind Ramos v Louisiana (2020) which outlawed majority verdicts in the United States

The report will be introduced by a short video, followed by contributions from the speakers. We'll delve into the implications our findings and APPEAL’s recommendations for change.

There will be a Q&A session where you will be able to engage with the speakers and delve deeper into the topics discussed. Afterward, join us for drinks, snacks, and networking opportunities.

About APPEAL

APPEAL is a charity and law practice dedicated to fighting miscarriages of justice and demanding reform. We fight the cases of individual victims of unsafe convictions and unfair sentences who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer themselves. We are leaders in integrating quality legal representation and holistic care for those we represent in parallel with advocacy for system reform.

About the Researchers and Authors

Nisha Waller leads APPEAL’s research on racism and injustice. Alongiside her work at APPEAL, Nisha is a final year PhD candidate at the University of Oxford, where her research focuses on racialised processes of prosecution in the context of “joint enterprise”

Naïma Sakande is a solicitor, freelance researcher and expert on gender based violence, criminal, racial justice and communications consultant. Previously, she was Deputy Director of APPEAL, where she managed the Women's Justice Initiative.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The City Law School, London, United Kingdom