Criminal Justice System Failing Disabled Defendants

The criminal justice system in England and Wales is failing defendants who are disabled or have mental health conditions and needs reform to ensure everyone receives a fair trial, the equalities watchdog has warned. In a report, called Inclusive Justice, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) calls for better treatment for those with learning disabilities, autism and brain injuries who have to go to court. The complexity of the criminal justice system and its specialist language presents a particular problem for disabled defendants and puts them at risk of not being able to participate effectively in the legal process, the report says.

There is significant overrepresentation of people with learning disabilities and mental health issues passing through the criminal system, according to the EHRC. Too few legal professionals have adequate training to appropriately assist those with with impairments. Increased digitalisation of the courts system and remote hearings during the Covid-19 crisis threatens to make the situation worse, the report notes. It quotes one woman defendant, for example, as saying: “I know I’ve done something wrong, but I’m really not quite sure what that was.”

A crown court judge told the EHCR: “It seems to me that language is the real key, that the way we speak in court has to change … We do have to speak in a way which is not so far removed from the way that ordinary people speak and that includes people with impairments. David Isaac, the chair of the EHRC, said: “A non-discriminatory criminal justice system, that everyone can participate in, underpins our society. It stands for democracy, equality and the rule of law. It should give us all the chance of a fair trial, no matter who we are.

Read more: Owen Bowcot, Guardain, https://is.gd/WH8HTU