Andrew Mallard was wrongfully found guilty of the murder of a jeweler (Pamela Lawrence) at Mosman Park which was the location of her store. Initially, Andrew was among the first 136 suspects that killed the jeweler, but he came to the attention of the police after he was placed in gray lands psychiatric hospital, after finding out about his mental illness, when he attempted a burglary where he impersonated a police officer. After serving 12 years in prison, he was released in 2006. His original sentence was life in prison, but after new evidence was presented, the High Court of Australia overturned his conviction. It was later revealed that during Andrew Mallard’s original trial in 1994, police withheld crucial material from his defense team, which could have stopped him from going to jail. Principles of justice ensure that people are all treated equally and fairly, and all people receive the right benefits and burdens. The principles of justice are equality before law, right to a fair hearing, judiciary must be independent and impartial, and individuals have the right to a reasonable appeal. The principles of justice are not always upheld and can lead to innocent people dealing with the consequences.
Equality before the law means before the law, everyone must be treated equally. When engaging with the legal system, all people should be treated equally regardless of colour, ethnicity, sex, income level, or mental capacity. Equality before the law was compromised in Andrew Mallard’s case as the police knew about his mental issue and chose him due to their knowledge of this. When Andrew was in an interview with the police, he drew a wrench which the police believed he had used to kill her. They thought this was enough proof and they wanted to decide fast as they were under immense pressure from the public and the media. They ended up arresting Andrew Mallard only because of that one piece of evidence and in trial, it was hard for him to communicate his thoughts due to his mental condition.
Having a right to a fair hearing means everyone has the right to a fair and public hearing before a legally established competent, independent, and impartial body. This principle of justice was heavily comprimised in Andrew Mallard’s case due to the withholding of evidence. The police kept vital evidence out of his case which could have helped Andrew stay out of jail (a test that a wrench could not have killed the victim, when the police believed Andrew had killed the victim with a wrench). It was also comprimised due to his disability where his mind can’t think properly. He is meant to receive help with his disability, but he didn’t get any. The case was only slightly upheld though. It was upheld as both parties were given a say after being allowed by the judge.
The principle of justice that the judiciary is independent and impartial means that because the courts are apart from the elected parliament and administration, the judges and magistrates are free to make decisions without fear of being influenced by these entities. Our legal systems benefit from having an independent court, which means that no one, even the government, is above the law. This was heavily comprimised in Andrew Mallard’s case because of the case was shown to the media before the trial. This means that everyone had already seen false information the media had said which had adjusted their opinions. This meant that when they walked into the trial, they already had heard rumours and speculations about on why he was guilty. The principle was only slightly by the judge as he said to only base the jury’s opinions off what they had heard that day, even though they didn’t.
The principle of justice that individuals have the right to a reasonable appeal allows those who are unhappy with the outcome of their case to appeal, or have it reviewed by a higher court if they have reasonable grounds to do so. In Andrew Mallards case, this was slightly compromised but heavily upheld. It was slightly compromised has some of the appeals he made were just waved away or they didn’t get him out of jail. This principle was heavily upheld as he was let out of jail after many appeals to the high court.
Overall, the principles of justice of equality before the law, the right to a fair hearing judiciary being independent and impartial and individuals have the right to appeal show that in the case of Andrew Mallard, the principles of justice were heavily comprimised and only slightly upheld. The principles of justice ensure that there is equality, fairness, and access for people no matter race, gender, sex and nationality. While Andrew Mallard was able to enjoy 13 years of freedom, he uunfortunately passed away due to being hit by a car. He died at the age of 56 and 12 of those years was spent in jail, missing out on many of life’s milestones such as starting a family and marriage. It is very important that we as a society uphold the principles of justice o avoid other tragedies such as those that Andrew Mallard suffered.