System of Justice
The “system of justice” that was shown in the film “In the Name of the Father” was tainted with corruption and dishonesty. The movie starts with the false conviction of four individuals for the bombing in Guildford causing the death of one civilian and four British soldiers. These four innocent people were later known as the “Guildford Four”. The movie showed the injustices done to innocent citizens by the present British court system.
The movie depicted the corrupt police investigation after the lawyer in the person of Gareth Peirce accidentally discovered important police files that were being kept from the defense panel. This shows that the police had been lying all along during the initial trial where they stated false statements under oath, which amounts to the crime of perjury.
The cover-ups demonstrated by the police indicate the presence of deceit and fraud in order to keep the Guildford Four behind bars for the crime that they did not commit. While the case was on appeal, the lawyer for the Guildford Four was able to produce the files that the police kept away from the defense which lead to the acquittal of defendants. The last scene in the movie was inside the courtroom when the lawyer Peirce presented the evidence before court to prove that the police officers had been lying throughout the trial. The final verdict led to the release of the Guildford Four.
The movie shows the flawed system of justice as shown during the first and second trial. The rights and freedoms that have been violated in the movie include the right to presumption of innocence of the accused, the right to speedy trial, and arbitrary detention or imprisonment under the Canadian Charter of Rights.
Under Section 24(2) of the Canadian Charter Rights, it states that when the court concludes that any evidence obtained by the police was done in a manner that denied any rights or freedoms of the accused, such evidence shall be excluded in the proceedings and cannot be used against the defendants to avoid the administration of justice into disrepute.
Works Cited:
Barton, Ruth. Irish National Cinema-In the Name of the Father. New York: Routledge,
2004. Print.
