TRIAL BY JURY

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 48, 25 August 1921, Page 9

TRIAL BY JURY

10 THE EDITOR,

Sir, —In your leader of Saturday night's issue, you refer to a case of " a jury who, in flagrant disregard of the evidence,, had acquitted a prisoner, was dismissed by one of our -Judges with the remark, ' Consistently with your oaths, gentlemen, you have found the prisoner not guilty ' ; also another remark by, a Judge, {.' I suppose we may assume that you read his confession." There was a more caustic remark made by the celebrated Irish Judge, Lord Norbury. The ' /jury had brought in a verdict of not guilty in a murder charge. The Judge turned.to the prisoner and said: "Prisoner at the Bar, a jury of your enlightened countrymen have, after the clearest evidence, found you not guilty of the crime of murder." Turning to the gaoler, he said: "Gaoler, turn him loose upon them." From the number of cases in which the juries have found " not guilty," it is a comfort to know that one of the Judges declared his intention of having a special jury when he thought it necessary. Every rightthinking person will quite.agree with'the Judge's remark. AVith regard to certain crimes against man, and those sexual ones against cliildren and women, it is high time that power was given to add flogging to the sentence, and in the more brutal cases even more drastic punishment. The brutes who commit such assaults should .have no mercy shown to them.—l am, etc., ALTERATIONS REQUIRED. 24th August.