Errors of impunity

Errors of impunity is a term used in Brian Forst's book "Errors of Justice" and in Robert Bohm's introduction to a special edition of "The Journal of Criminal Justice" on miscarriages of justice. They are defined as lapses that result in criminals either remaining at large or receiving sanctions that are below a socially optimal level.

Definition

Forst divides errors of impunity into two categories. The first category is made up of those that are like car accidents: the community may be able to do more to prevent them, but generally prefers to consider them beyond the reach of the criminal justice system to do so. About half of all felony victimizations in the U.S. are not reported to the police, and many of those that are reported are committed by skillful, elusive offenders. The second category is made up of those errors that are real, unambiguous, significant, and avoidable. Examples include failures of the police to follow up leads to capture dangerous offenders and inmate escapees.

Effects

Forst argues that a variety of social costs are incurred as the number of culpable offenders set free increases: public safety and the quality of life are compromised, the credibility of deterrent effectiveness is lost, and citizens become increasingly inclined to perceive injustices to victims and alienation from the police and courts, if not from government generally. As a result, Forst argues, the integrity of the justice system becomes threatened both by the reality and perception of ineffectualness. These lapses can run through the entire justice system, from ineffective policing and prosecution to weak sentencing and corrections.

Notable cases

*Dr John Bodkin Adams, was a British general practitioner working in Eastbourne, UK. He was arrested in 1956 for the murders of Edith Alice Morrell and Gertrude Hullett. He was tried in 1957 and found not guilty of the first charge and the second was dropped via a "Nolle prosequi", an act which the judge, Mr Justice Devlin, later described "an abuse of process" [Devlin, Patrick; "Easing the Passing", London, The Bodley Head, 1985] . Police archives, opened in 2003, suggest that evidence was passed to the defence by the DPP in order to allow Adams to avoid the death sentence, then still in force. Home Office pathologist Francis Camps suspected Adams of killing 163 patients in total. [Cullen, Pamela V., "A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams", London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, ISBN 1-904027-19-9] Adams was only ever fined for minor offences and struck off the medical register for four years.
*Karla Homolka was granted immunity in exchange for her testimony against her lover Paul Bernardo for his murders. She portrayed herself as an abused victim, but later evidence proved she was in fact equally culpable, taking part in the murders, but Canadian authorities were unable to prosecute.

References

* R. M. Bohm, "Miscarriages of Criminal Justice: An Introduction," "Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice," Volume 21 (2005), Number 3, 196-200

* B. Forst, "Errors of Justice: Nature, Sources and Remedies" (Cambridge University Press, 2004)