The Barrister Bard

The government’s latest White Paper, concentrating as it does on women killing violent men, and the possible defences open to them, is an unnecessary distraction, ill conceived and simply complicates an already messy approach to this, the most serious crime on the statute books.

In 1965, the death penalty for murder was abolished, and as […]

The High Court decision in favour of Max Mosley, and the award of £60,000 damages, comes as no surprise, but leaves me cold. Like many others, I followed the court proceedings, as no doubt did Mr. Mosley, sitting gingerly throughout on a soft cushion before emerging, smug and triumphant, on the court steps. On […]

It’s enough to make strong men weep! I refer to reports on the topic of knife crime, now filling almost every page of the tabloids, and if nothing else, we’re not short of advice.

But what makes me weep is the response to the tentative suggestion that airport style metal detectors might be installed […]

The question of “having a go” when you confront an intruder on your property has raised its ugly head again, and speaking for myself, I am none the wiser.

This “hot potato” has been sizzling away for the best part of twelve months, with the government encouraging us to be firm but fair, and the […]

Memory and the Law is a report, just published by the British Psychological Society, retreading a well worn path that was made public many years ago by American researchers into the same topic, and which they labelled False Memory Syndrome. In this regard, the British research is hardly breaking new ground.

American researchers, when […]