Justice system failed for innocent teens who spent six months in custody
Police interviewed pair without lawyers present, then laid murder charges on flimsy grounds
I was recently involved in a serious criminal case in which the justice system treated two young witnesses in a very unsatisfactory way.
At the time, the girl was aged just 15 years and the boy was in his late teens. Both had originally been arrested as suspects in a murder investigation. Both had been interviewed without any lawyers present, and then charged with murder and remanded in custody.
After six months or so, they were re-interviewed, this time as witnesses. The murder charges were dropped and they were released from custody.
There are several disturbing issues here. Bear in mind that we are talking about two very young people.
First, at no stage was there any evidence indicating they were guilty of murder or manslaughter, or of any offence against the victim at all. That they were charged is surprising. The fact that they were then held in custody for six months is seriously disturbing. This is the equivalent of a sentence of nine months' imprisonment for innocent youths.
How did this situation come about?
Leaving aside the police's decision to lay charges, possibly with legal advice and possibly not - which is often a matter of discretion and opinion - the system itself prevented any proper treatment of the two youngsters.