This petition was submitted during the 2017-2019 parliament
Rejected petition Include at least 1-2 ethnic minorities for almost every jury service
Ethnic minorities are often stereotyped against when convicted. Their defence case is also often overlooked due to the bias & stereotypical image SOME jury members already have against them. Many are convicted without solid evidence by an all white jury who have never been stereotyped against.
More details
Racial bias has in many cases proven to exist within the jury system. It is unfair for an all white jury to decide if a black or asian man is more likely to commit a crime in comparison to a white counterpart as people can often make a decision based on racial bias. Racial bias is also hard to prove however by having an ethnic minority in a trial especially for a case involving an ethnic minority they can understand what it is like to be stereotyped against & educate the rest of the jury members
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
We can't accept your petition because we aren't sure what action you would like the UK Government or Parliament to take. Equalities legislation would make it illegal to pick a jury on the basis of race. We're not sure if removing that legislation is something that you would like to see happen.
You could start a new petition calling for all juries to be required to undergo compulsory racial bias training if that's something you would like to see happen.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.