‘Fallible’ system means innocent are jailed, says judge

Innocent people are sometimes jailed for crimes they did not commit, representing an extreme failure of the “fallible” Irish legal system, according to Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Frank Clarke.

It’s important to acknowledge the miscarriages of jus- tice when they occur and learn from the system’s failures, he said yesterday at an international conference on wrongful conviction and human rights.

“I think all systems need to acknowledge they are fallible,” Mr Justice Clarke said.