Our legal system has achieved just outcomes, but also has its flaws. This is represented with the case study that is Gene Gibson. In this essay, Gene Gibson’s case will be discussed and also how his case had many miscarriages of justice. There were many areas of this case which were wrong but, there was 3 that really stood out. 1. Equal treatment before the law, 2. Innocent until proven guilty and 3. Right to silence. Although there was one principle that was supported and that was, right to an appeal.
The Gene Gibson case started in 2014 when the victim, Josh Warneke, was killed late at night. When police found the victim, Gene was accused. In the 9-hour police interview, he told them plenty of times that English was his second language as he lived in a remote indigenous community. The police ignored this and kept going until Gene made a false confession because no one was listening. He spent 4 years in jail and later appealed. He then applied and was given $1.3m in compensation.
The first principle of justice that wasn’t supported was “equal treatment before the law”. This principle means that everyone, no matter gender, race, back round etc., is treated the same. This clearly was not represented in Gene’s case and here’s why. Firstly, Gene was not fluent in English and also didn’t understand the legal system very well. The police should have given him an interpreter. This led to him stating a false confession after getting questioned for 9 hours. Another thing was the police did not have enough evidence to arrest Gene as the only thing they were going off was that Gene and his friends drove past the victim when he was still alive. This was clearly not treating Gene equally and was not just.
The next principle that was compromised was “innocent until proven guilty”. This principle means that if the accused has not been proven guilty yet, treat them as an innocent. Gene was not treated fairly before his false confession and therefore the police were not following this principle. One of these situations was Gene not getting an interpreter while in his long interview. This was not treating him as an innocent and was not giving him justice. Another event that occurred, which was very flawed, was holding him in a 9-hour interview when the police knew he had a mental impairment. Since the police were aware of this, they should have made the interrogation much shorter and not caused Gene to stress as much as he did. This was very wrong and the police at the time did not care, they just wanted to arrest Gene. As seen in this evidence, the principle of “innocent until proven guilty” was not supported.
The last principle that was not supported in Gene Gibson’s case was “the right to silence”. This principle means that in any situation, such as an interrogation, the person getting questioned has the right to not answer questions and remain silent. As shown in the recent information, Gene was not given the choice to have interpreter. This made it very difficult for Gene to understand the exact situation he was in and, although he could speak and understand English, he was not fluent and had trouble getting through to the police, as they would not listen. Gene had to right to an interpreter and it was unjust that this was not provided for him. Gene was not given the right to silence when getting questioned which eventually led to him signing the false confession and going to jail.
Although there were many miscarriages of justice in this case, there was one principle that was supported. This was the right to appeal. This followed principle means that someone can appeal and that may or may not be granted to them. It will not be granted unless the decision meets the statutory requirements. After 4 years in jail, Gene was on appeal and was proven innocent after police looked over important information about his case. After he was proven innocent, he applied and received $1.3 million as compensation. This was an example of a principle that was supported in Gene’s case.
In conclusion, there was many miscarriages of justice in Gene Gibson’s case. The principles that weren’t supported were “equal treatment before the law”, “innocent until proven guilty” and “the right to silence. All of the information shows, the examples and situations that support these principles being compromised. There was also a principle of justice that was supported which was “the right to appeal”. Gene was treated extremely unfairly and deserved better than this. The legal system has many flaws, and hopefully over time, these flaws can improve, and justice can be served.