Forest Gate Author Finds A Justice System in Crisis by Charlotte Smith at the Stratford & Newham Express 20th November 2004 Judge for Yourself is a well-researched but searing account of the criminal justice system in Britain by Forest Gate author LA Naylor. The book turns the police and judicial system around and looks at the odds stacked against the victim of a miscarriage of justice. It shows the lack of checks on the police, the subjective side to forensic evidence, the difficulty of legal appeals and the narrowness of the establishment. There are startling facts: between 1969 and 1999 more than 1,000 people were killed while in custody but not one officer of the law has been successfully prosecuted. The low rate of appeals also means that the crown court claims to get it right 99.98 per cent of the time. At the core of the book are the devestating stories of three current prisoners and three former inmates. These include testimonies from 40-year old Paul Blackburn, who has been locked up since he was a child, and Robert Brown, an innocent man who served 25 years for murder. Judge for Yourself also documents the case of Satpal Ram, who served 16 years for defending himself during a racist attack in a restaurant. Naylor's writing is clear, direct and brisk, making her book highly readable while dealing with a meaty subject. She is partisan and dismissive, such as of the "thankfully late Lord Denning" who rejected the civil action brought by her friend Paddy Hill of the Birmingham Six. Her account of the bias in justice is nonetheless convincing and she makes a strong case for a system in crisis. LA Naylor has lived in East London for five years and was granted an award by the Campaign for Learning organisation to write Judge for Yourself, her first book, in 2002. She is also the administrator of Children with Aids Charity and is currently finishng a novel about her experience of living in rural Guatemala. Paddy Hill, Paul Blackburn and Michael Mansfield QC are expected at the book launch in Fleet Street this Thursday. Judge for Yourself How Many are Innocent is published by Roots Books and priced £ 12.95.

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© L.A.Naylor 2005. All rights reserved.