How much can we trust our justice system?

The British jury system – judgement by twelve of one’s peers – is shrouded in secrecy, but does that only serve to cover up flaws in the system?

Juries are a cornerstone of British justice, but studies have suggested that up to a quarter of juries’ verdicts may be susceptible to inaccuracies influenced by a range of factors beyond objective evidence, and that most jurors – ordinary people who are often in court for the first time - do not understand all the points of law they are supposed to be judging upon. The secrecy that surrounds jury verdicts – in the UK, they are forbidden from sharing their reasoning – means furthermore that it is impossible to check the soundness of the decision-making. 

The Jury  will examine the jury system for the first time on British television by recreating an entire, real murder trial from the original transcripts. 

“This brilliant reconstruction of a real-life trial lifts the lid on the usually secret deliberation room” - the Guardian

WAtch the series now on channel 4