Closed petition Create right of appeal against jury verdict if trial uses only certain evidence

Closed on 30 May 2024

Evidence used in a trial can include non-corroborated evidence, hearsay evidence and bad character evidence. Using such evidence may be of benefit, however we believe it may also mean that innocent people are convicted of crimes.

To counter the risk of innocent people being convicted of crimes based on non- corroborated, hearsay and bad character evidence, we think that where a person is convicted of any crime and the trial has only used non-corroborated evidence and/or hearsay evidence and/or bad character evidence, there should be a legal right of appeal against the jury verdict, where the appeal court can consider whether the jury’s decision was perverse, and the verdict of the jury can be overruled. We believe the Government should legislate for this legal right.