SpeakUp

They seem to be a favourite afternoon 'pick me up' by hundreds of people at my work....and my mother had to frop one off on the way back from the airport at 1am in the morning for one of her friends!! Add that to a list of popular addictions!!

Thought I'd join the thousands of others and tuck into one while my good man is out....

SO HOW DO YOU EAT YOURS?!!!

Me....I started to lisk out the inside and decided is was far too sweet, spooned out the rest and decided that the thick outer chocolate layer was the only bit I was interested in!!  To hell with the rest of it....

Interestingly, the online vote carried out at the end of day four of the trial showed that 57% of viewers thought that Damian was guilty, and a staggering 73% thought James had raped Anna. 

The verdict by the celebrity jurors was 'not guilty' on all counts.

I'm hoping that there will be similar trial recreations in the future....

For those who watched it - I would appreciate your opinions on the representation of the trial as a critique of our Justice system as well as the result itself.

MY COMMENTS:

From watching the programme I believe it is not surprising that less than 5% of rape trials end in a 'guilty' verdict. 

Firstly: The narrator of the show advised that Jurors shoould no longer base their decision on 'beyond reasonable doubt' but should 'be sure'.  As a result of this although a large percentage of the Jurors felt that the alleged victim had been raped, they could not be sure and therefore had no choice but to give a 'not guilty' verdict.  This I feel meant that the final verdict of 'not guilty' was not a true representation of their evaluations of the case.

Secondly: Is it at all possible or realistic to gain a 'guilty' verdict in a case such as this based on the fact that Jurors must feel that they are 'sure' of the verdict? After all, there is seldom encough evidence presented in a rape case to be sure that a crime was committed.

CONCLUSION:

Don't get me wrong - I'm not suggesting that we start locking men away for a horrific crime that they may not have committed and we do need to protect those that are wrongly accused.  Likewise, shouldn't we ensure that we are providing justice for those who do suffer the consequences of such crimes?

All in all, I feel that this was a hugely intriguing insight into the way in which Jurors reacted to their duty - ranging from cool and collected to impulsive and emotional.  The analytical processes involved and psychological impact was enthralling to watch.