I rated this 10/10
A man wrongly condemned to death for murder, a crusading lawyer determined to free him, an investigation that reveals corruption at every turn. This remarkable book reads like a page-turning detective story, with one crucial difference: can we be sure that justice will be served at the end?
Previous to reading this book, my opinions and thoughts on the death penalty were almost non-existent. I'll admit this; it had no relevance to my life so much as it does not occur in this country and I was ignorant to the process and so didn't feel the need to contemplate it much.
My thoughts simply went this far; I have always believed that it is not only criminals that make unforgivable mistakes - but that those prosecuting are also only human; there should be no life or death decision made where human error could always be an incriminating factor. This belief, however, would never move me to the point of action.
Injustice has strengthened my opposition of the death penalty, and particularly the belief that everybody deserves a free trial. The amount of corruption uncovered by Stafford Smith and his team is absolutely shocking. In addition, he has also highlighted points (such as the potential failures of forensic evidence, the positive effects of some victim mediation processes etc) that I previously had been ignorant of.
Prosecutors don't prosecute prosecutors for sending an innocent person to prison. - p105
And the relevance of this activity to our own justice systems in Britain is also worrying - reading about Kris' case has moved me to support reprieve.org.uk myself. I believe that everybody has the right to a fair trial, particularly where capital punishment is involved.
A deeply harrowing read, shocking and compelling; well worth a few hours of your time. Note also that Injustice has 4.5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads - which across 27 ratings (as of 09/10/13) is just brilliant!
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