Jimmy Boyle - Much Madness is Presumption of Guilt

You Call This Justice?

It is everyones worst nightmare to be wrongly accused of historical sex offences. This is what happened to Jimmy Boyle who at the time, was a well respected teacher in Scotland. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to over 10 years imprisonment for crimes he did not commit. Eventually, his conviction was overturned and he was acquitted of all of the charges at the re-trial.

This is a relevant story to what is currently happening in the criminal justice system as far too often, people who have been wrongly convicted of criminal offences struggle to return to the life they had before despite so much support including; in Jimmy's case from parents and former students. Tragically miscarriage of justice victims are often stigmatised by other authorities who ignore the fact that their name have been cleared. Jimmy's story also highlights the concerns raised by many in relation to the 'not proven' verdict which means exactly the same in law as a 'not guilty' verdict but is often wrongly interpreted by others to the detriment of the person who has been acquitted.