Breige Gadd is concerned that the move by journalists and other commentator’s toward open season on the IRA, compromises a crucial principle in British justice, the right to remain innocent until proven guilty (subs needed). Hat-tip Oilibhear.
The standards inherent in British justice and its processes have been centuries in the making and have rightly become a standard bearer for the rest of the world.
Of course there have been times when courts and their associated officers including the police, have got it wrong but that is about human failure and not about the tried and tested nature of, and necessity for, due process.
Even through the worst of times, parliament and the judiciary held on to the supremacy of that rule of law and the absolute necessity of due process. Internment has been rightly viewed by all as a costly mistake for the very reason that judging men and women to be guilty without the benefit of a fair trial causes more problems than it solves. It creates and fosters a feeling of injustice amongst many law-abiding citizens.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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