Alex McCrory ✒ I'm watching a documentary made in 1983 about the Diplock Court system and the administration of British justice in the north of Ireland. 

It is interesting for it's background information, touching as it does on the removal jury trials; changes in the law to allow the courts to admit self-incriminating statements obtained under interrogation, and the use of supergrasses.

One statistic jumped out at me that relates to many discussions that appear online that are critical of positions adapted in the courts by political prisoners today. It has always been my belief these exchanges lack historical context.
 
The documentary in order to make a point looked at every single case that went before the Diplock courts in the period of the first three months of 1981.

Of all the people involved 170:

147 pleaded guilty.
23 pleased not guilty.
8 were acquited.
Only 1 refused to recognise the court.

This is evidence of a sea change in the attitude of Republican prisoners going before the Diplock courts. This trend would continue throughout the Eighties and into the Nineties.
 
I will allow the reader to draw their own conclusions from the data.

Alec McCrory 
is a former blanketman.

Diplock

Alex McCrory ✒ I'm watching a documentary made in 1983 about the Diplock Court system and the administration of British justice in the north of Ireland. 

It is interesting for it's background information, touching as it does on the removal jury trials; changes in the law to allow the courts to admit self-incriminating statements obtained under interrogation, and the use of supergrasses.

One statistic jumped out at me that relates to many discussions that appear online that are critical of positions adapted in the courts by political prisoners today. It has always been my belief these exchanges lack historical context.
 
The documentary in order to make a point looked at every single case that went before the Diplock courts in the period of the first three months of 1981.

Of all the people involved 170:

147 pleaded guilty.
23 pleased not guilty.
8 were acquited.
Only 1 refused to recognise the court.

This is evidence of a sea change in the attitude of Republican prisoners going before the Diplock courts. This trend would continue throughout the Eighties and into the Nineties.
 
I will allow the reader to draw their own conclusions from the data.

Alec McCrory 
is a former blanketman.

4 comments:

  1. I don't know how reliable they were, but I recall seeing statistics many years ago on Carswell, apparently his conviction rate of nationalists/ Republicans was 98%. Also, there was over 90% conviction rate against nationalists/ Republicans and under 70% for Loyalists. I wonder how accurate those figures are?

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    Replies
    1. Brandon Sullivan shared statistics one time about the conviction rates in the Diplock courts.

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  2. Carswell had a reputation for being a heavy hitter. My solicitor said recently that the Supreme Court is in the hands of conservative judges which tends to filter downwards. Today's judges are led by sentencing guidelines for specific charges. They tend to favour higher end tariffs. Fifty percent remission is no longer guaranteed and those with previous records face the prospect of serving a greater time because of dangerousness. There is also indeterminate and extended sentences to contend with.

    Alex

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  3. "Only 1 refused to recognise the court."
    There in lies the rub. We never got any justice from the occupiers courts so playing along with it was a mistake.
    Better to reject the courts authority than play along with the charade.
    They only use their court system against us when their 'Shoot to Kill" policy couldn't be used for whatever reason.

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