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Simple English definitions for legal terms
miscarriage (of justice)
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A quick definition of miscarriage (of justice):
Term: Miscarriage (of Justice)
Definition: A miscarriage of justice happens when someone is punished for a crime they didn't commit. It's like when a teacher gives a student a bad grade for a test they didn't take. It's not fair or right. This can happen when the court makes a mistake or doesn't have enough evidence to prove someone is guilty. It's important to make sure that justice is served and innocent people are not punished.
A more thorough explanation:
Definition: In criminal law, a miscarriage of justice occurs when a judicial proceeding results in an unjust, unfair, or improper outcome. This term is often used to describe a mistake made by the court that leads to the conviction of an innocent person for a crime they did not commit. It can also refer to wrongful arrests or indictments.
One example of a miscarriage of justice is the case of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a professional boxer who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1967. Despite a lack of physical evidence linking him to the crime, Carter was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. It wasn't until years later that new evidence came to light, and Carter was eventually exonerated.
Another example is the case of the Central Park Five, a group of young Black and Latino men who were wrongfully convicted of raping a woman in New York City's Central Park in 1989. The men were coerced into confessing to a crime they did not commit and were later exonerated when DNA evidence proved their innocence.
These examples illustrate how a miscarriage of justice can occur when the legal system fails to properly investigate a case or when biases and prejudices influence the outcome of a trial. Innocent people can be wrongly convicted and sentenced to years in prison, while the true perpetrators of a crime remain free.