David Anderson has been contacting universities and academics in the English speaking world and the response has been very encouraging. This message came back from Dr Dennis Eady. He gave us permission to repeat it:
Thanks for your email to Prof Julie Price concerning your book “Three False Convictions Many Lessons: the Psychopathology of Unjust Convictions.” We have already purchased a copy for our innocence project library and I also bought a copy as leaving present for a colleague who left recently after a number of years working with us. It will be on the reading list for any students thinking of applying to do case work on our project and I will give it a plug and maybe use a quote or two in a couple of speaking engagements I have coming up.
“Judicial truth, however ridiculous, always trumps real truth and common sense” p.189 is a particular favourite of mine, so absolutely true in our experience.
I was first attracted to the book by the sub-title – the criminal justice system does reflect exactly that and especially the lack of empathy and human concern – I hope in our work we can instil in a few future lawyers an appreciation that they are dealing with human beings not just “cases”. The adoption as you suggest of the medical rule “Do no harm” is one that would be massively beneficial to the legal system which sometimes seems to be doing more harm than good. The other massive failure of legal systems, as you demonstrate so well, is the refusal to be self-critical. The dominance of sociopathic individuals may well be a factor in this and it was refreshing to read a book that was prepared not only to admit this but also to demonstrate it with evident reasoning.
Thanks for getting in touch and for this much needed and different contribution to the literature on this topic.
Dennis
Dr Dennis Eady
Cardiff University Law School Innocence Project
Cardiff Law School
Museum Avenue
Cardiff CF10 3AX
