The case of Sion Jenkins.
I've never been happy about the conviction of Sion Jenkins for the 1997 murder of his step-daughter Billie-Jo. I normally reserve judgement on criminal cases because I know that what one gathers from the media may not be an accurate reflection of what was heard in court, but this case bothers me because it seems to have been based on very little.

As I understand it, the main evidence against Jenkins was that there were traces of blood on his jacket and that he had been angry with her earlier that same day. On their own, these two facts don't seem to amount to very much to me. Families often argue and the fact that he had her blood on his clothing is entirely consistent with his explanation that he found her bleeding after someone else had battered her. There is also the report of a mentally disturbed man known to have an obsession for sticking bits of plastic up his nostrils being seen in the vicinity on the same day. Traces of bin-liner were found in Billie-Jo's nose.

I would like to see clear guidelines from the police on what I am supposed to do if I find someone in the sort of condition that Billie-Jo was in. Now that mobile phones are commonplace, my first instinct would be to call the police and get the victim to speak to them while he/she is still alive in order in part to clear me. but that only works if they are still capable of speech. Having seen what Jenkins has gone through, I'm tempted to stay well away lest I come into contact with blood, skin or hair that could later be used to convict me. That's sad really, as my first concern should be to give whatever aid I can rather than establishing my innocence.

See here for the story.

I know I shouldn't have a view on this but I can't help hoping that Jenkins is released. I think he's been the victim of an appalling miscarriage of justice. It's for reasons like this that I'm reluctantly opposed to the death penalty. I have no moral objection to it in principal at all, just a fear that it would one day lead to the execution of an innocent man who might later have proved his innocence.