In the criminal justice system,
the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important groups.
The police, who investigate crime,
and the crown prosecutors, who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
Sean! It's your dad!
He's 12 years old. He's been missing nearly 30 hours now.
Got a location for his mobile yet? Sean! Stay where you are! Don't be scared!
OK, guys. I need this whole slipway ruled out.
Sean! It's your dad!
Check behind that scaffolding. Right up to the road.
His mobile's still switched off.
Well, the trace says he's here somewhere.
Sean! 'Lima Oscar Five. Lima Oscar Five.'
'Latest from TIU says the mobile signal is moving.'
'Repeat. The signal is moving.'
He's on the move! Oscar 9-9. Oscar 9-9.
'He's on the move.'
There's nothing. No sign of anything.
OK, Ron. We're headed back down to the river.
Sean! We've got your dad here, Sean! Sean!
'Lima Oscar Five. Lima Oscar Five.'
'I've got an update for you. Mobile signal is heading south.'
'Towards the Thames.'
'That doesn't make any sense.'
He's not even down by the river. Lads!
Lads, get out of the water. Come on. He's not there. Up here!
Matt, he's gotta be heading your way. Yeah, yeah. I got it.
He must be right on top of you, mate.
Ronnie, there's nothing here. We've checked it twice now.
'Nothing by the river bank. No sign at all.'
Oh, my God! Ronnie!
Ronnie! I've got him!
Get down here now!
Ronnie, I've got him!
Oh, no.
(DISTANT SIRENS A HELICOPTER IS OVERHEAD)
A single blow to the head from a heavy, blunt object.
Probably cause of death, but we won't know for certain until the post mortem's done.
So he was killed and then dumped into the drainage system.
Yeah. Pete. Can I have a word?
How am I gonna tell his mum?
I don't know. I really don't.
Ronnie.
Found that on him.
I didn't think I'd ever see that again.
Law and Order UK
Season 4, Episode 6 "Skeletons"
Sync and corrected by www.addic7ed.com
It's a nightmare. 14-year-old, black,
same note in his pocket.
Deja vu, James. Sounds like Andrew Dillon's back.
The racist killer. One clean blow fractured that boy's skull.
Two of Dillon's victims had the same MO.
Sean Monroe had a gold crucifix, according to his dad.
It wasn't found on his body. And we know that Dillon liked to take souvenirs.
The original murders were over six years ago.
Why would anyone do this now? Dillon was just attacked in jail.
Someone may have found out, taken revenge.
Did anyone in particular support Dillon during the trial?
No. His family...
stopped coming to court.
Although, he did have a few die-hard supporters in the National Front.
They set up that online fan site.
They called Dillon a white power hero.
We got shut down a few months back for inciting racial hatred.
What happened to freedom of speech?
Where were you yesterday, Kyle, between 3:30 and 11:00?
I was chairing a meeting. White power?
It was a discussion about immigration, to be exact.
And how long did this meeting last?
4:00 till 7:30. Then we went for a curry.
How many attended? There was 10 of us.
I'll do you a list. Give us a pen, John.
Did you see this boy when you came out of the pub?
Saw plenty of 'em.
This boy's name is Sean.
He was killed in this area yesterday, his body dumped in a storm drain. Try again!
He's a copper's kid, Kyle.
That copper happens to be a friend. That's why you care.
So what was the nature of the meeting?
Stirring up the mob to follow
in Dillon's footsteps and lynch a 14-year-old boy?
What does that say? 'Actions, not words'?
We didn't attack any boy.
But we support what Dillon did.
Well, that's more than he did.
I mean, Dillon denied the murders, didn't he?
Let's go, Matt. Andrew Dillon didn't start it!
He got mugged by two of 'em and he made a stand.
We're overrun round here. And that man's got balls.
Oh, I doubt that very much now.
They were probably ripped off after he got beat up last week.
How did that happen? They're supposed to keep him away from the foreigners.
But not from the dads.
Post mortem's done. FME puts the time of death between 5:00 and 7:00.
Well, that rules out Hitler Youth. Anything else?
Sean ate not long before he died.
Partially digested doughnuts, sweets, crisps.
So where's his local tuck shop?
He'd come from his street dance group.
He wanted to show me his latest moves.
He cracked me up.
That's street dance, is it?
Brucie here is more familiar with ballroom (!)
He was gonna go on Britain's Got Talent.
Did he talk to anyone else in the shop, Carla, after he walked away?
I seem to remember him talking to the security guard.
Just by the door there.
And is the security guard on duty today?
The company rotates me.
I work a few local shopping centres. And yesterday?
I did see this boy. I asked him to leave the newsagents.
He was looking at pornography.
Old dears come in searching for The People's Friend
don't want to see that smut. Wouldn't want them choking on their Werther's (!)
So I sent him on his way.
I walked him out the shopping centre.
I wasn't to know he'd come to any harm.
You don't happen to know which way he went, do you?
Yeah, he went right, towards Beckton.
Oi, Marcus! Excuse me.
OK. Thank you.
So what do you reckon? He just seems a normal lad.
Ate sweets, thought about girls.
Who knew you best at that age? Your dad or your mates? Come on.
We was a dance duo called N-synch.
Sean thought of the name cos... we did everything together.
Olly, have you any idea why Sean would head off from Canning Town to Beckton?
No. None of our friends live there.
Unless he went to see Darren. Darren? Boy from school?
That's Darren. He lives in Beckton.
He runs a talent agency.
He was trying to get Sean to sign up with him.
Sean was better than me, but... he said no.
He didn't want the act to split up.
Maybe he changed his mind and...
didn't wanna hurt my feelings.
Sean was soft like that.
Yeah, Sean came to see me.
I was interested in signing him.
He wanted to talk about it in private.
What time was this? Er, about half five?
Did he stay long? No. I was off out for a meal.
So he walked with me to the DLR, then...
said he was off home.
Darren Powell used to have a really good job
as a dance teacher at the East London School of Performing Arts.
Now he runs a talent agency that nobody's heard of from his own front room.
So why did he leave the school? Head teacher
wouldn't say. And he left without a reference.
Apparently, the guy goes around playgrounds targeting disadvantaged kids.
You sure Monroe wasn't sexually abused?
Not the day he was killed. Excuse me, ma'am.
Powell's Oystercard was used in Beckton Park Station at 7:20.
Darren told us he jumped on a train, left Sean at the station at quarter to six.
You were the last person to see Sean alive.
Darren. There's 95 minutes of your time that's unaccounted for.
Around the time Sean was killed. I didn't kill him!
Well, his body was dumped in a tunnel
20 minutes from Beckton Park Station.
I wanted to shake Sean off, so I said I was going out.
He offered to walk with me to the station.
I went into the station, waited for him to leave,
and then I had a pint.
Why were you trying to shake him off? I thought you wanted to sign him.
Why did you leave your teaching job at the ELPA?
Without a reference.
We'll get the story soon enough.
And you're holding out on us.
So I'll ask you again. Why did you leave your teaching job?
Because I got too involved.
With a pupil.
Oh. Was it...a young boy?
He was being abused by his stepdad.
I just gave him a place to stay.
His stepdad said I'd lured him there.
What did the boy say? He was too scared to say any different!
Were you involved with Sean? Were you worried
he'd tell someone? No! The boy was lying!
The school didn't think so. That's why I
couldn't invite Sean into my house! I didn't dare.
I'd already had the school board practically call
me a paedophile. And here you are doing the same.
It's because of people like you that I sent Sean away.
To his death.
Ronnie.
(INAUDIBLE)
They found him here.
He's not long dead. Scuff marks indicate a struggle.
How old? 13, according to his ID card.
Those marks around his neck... Strangled. The
marks suggest the killer used the boy's school tie.
It was loose round his neck.
We also found this in his pocket.
Inspector Chandler? Dev Desai was found
strangled on waste ground near Mudchute Park in Millwall
between 5:00 and 6:00 yesterday afternoon.
He was wearing a St Anthony's School uniform and we're appealing
to any member of the public who may have seen anything to please come forward.
Now, I can take a few questions. (CLAMOUR)
Gentleman at the back. Is it true that identical notes were found
in both the murder victims' pockets?
Well, as both investigations are currently ongoing,
there are certain details about the crime scenes
which we're not at liberty to disclose.
But we may be looking at a serial killer. Not necessarily.
In which case, are the murders related to those of Andrew Dillon?
It's far too early to tell.
Are you refusing to tell, or don't you know?
Do you believe these murders to be racially motivated?
Well, as I said, we're not ruling out
anything at this stage of the investigation.
But Dillon's killings were racially motivated, and he killed three boys.
But we don't know if there is any link with Dillon.
Have you asked what the police are doing?
Or are you relying on the British public to protect our children?
Oh, I can assure you we are carrying out the most thorough forensic investigations.
And all my officers out there on the ground are
doing their very best to find out who did this.
Look. We didn't see Dev. All right?
Besides, he goes to a posh school for little
pussies now, cos we're a bad influence.
Dev's mum told us that he missed you both.
Said that you were his best mates.
And we know that Dev skived off his school yesterday.
And that you two guys, you skived off your school, as well.
What? Don't tell my dad!
Well, we don't care about that, Dean.
But we do care that your friend was strangled to death.
If you care so much, why aren't you solving it?
That's what we're doing. By talking to you lads.
Now, do you want help us, or not? Look, I told you. We didn't see Dev!
Then we'll have to look on CCTV cameras for him, won't we? Yeah.
We've got 'em everywhere now, lads. You know that?
It might take us a little while to find out who did this to him - Look.
We were on Millwall. Near Green Lane shops.
What did I tell you?! They don't care about the school stuff!
What were you doing? Jacking, picking stuff up.
From shops? No! From the ground (!)
Very funny.
What do you reckon? Shall we nick 'em now?
Was Dev picking up too?
Yeah. Only, he got caught.
And what time was this? About 5:00.
And what shop? Look, I don't know! We'd split up.
Me and Justin were at the far end.
I'd just come out of some computer shop.
I saw some police manhandling Dev. Dashed him to the ground, so...
We legged it.
Local plod reckon none of their officers reported any incidents in Green Lane.
So who grabbed Dev Desai if it wasn't a PCSO?
What about a security guard? Nah.
These kids are savvy about that. They'd know the difference, surely.
Not from 100 yards away, running scared with stolen goods.
Although, Sean Monroe was moved on by a security guard.
Marcus Wright. The man who rotates around shopping centres.
I don't know him.
Well, Marcus, we have...
a coincidence that's been bothering us.
Two days ago, you had a run-in with Sean Monroe.
And he ended up dead.
This boy had a run-in with a security guard.
And also ended up dead. Well, that is a coincidence.
There's a lot of security guards out there.
With good reason.
But only one of them was with Sean Monroe. You.
Very busy area, Marcus. Plenty of witnesses
to see a young thief wrestled to the ground.
Him. I forgot.
Yes. He was stealing. I went after him.
But he got away.
He got away. Your witnesses will tell you that too.
Well, you see, now we're back with that coincidence.
You were with both these boys just hours before they died.
Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.
Both boys sinned.
I see you read the Bible, Marcus. You put that back.
That's my mother's.
Marcus.
God killed them, did he?
I don't buy that as an explanation.
A man bludgeoned Sean Monroe.
A man strangled Dev Desai.
'I will reduce the wicked to heaps of rubble.'
Put that back! 'I will destroy them, so the memory of them will vanish.'
You hear me? Put that back!
Was that Sean Monroe's crucifix?
No, sir. Would you put your hand on your Bible and tell me that?
We found this crucifix in your Bible.
We also found this.
A St Anthony medal, which we later
found was missing from Dev Desai's bag.
Yes, sir.
You do have the right to a solicitor.
I don't need no legal person telling me what to say.
I listen to the main man.
Did you kill Sean Monroe?
And Dev Desai? They were sinners.
And God sought revenge. Through you?
Plenty of sinners in London. Why pick on these two?
I didn't pick them.
God did.
This one...
..was looking at pornography.
Well, lots of people do that.
Yeah, but not with a crucifix around their neck.
I let him go.
But later...
..God put him back in my path.
That one...
..ripped off an image of St Anthony...
in prayer...
..while two other sinners looked on.
Is that why you grabbed him?
He went into a shop, stole some perfume,
he ran out, but I caught him.
But he kicked me and got away.
So you followed him.
When St Anthony died...
..children cried in the streets.
That one was laughing.
When St Anthony died...
..all the bells of the churches rang of their own accord.
Angels came down from heaven and made it happen.
Did God...
come down and make you kill these boys?
They had to be destroyed.
Did you write those notes?
God did. Through me.
And did you get the idea from Andrew Dillon?
No, sir. Then why write the notes?
If you were doing God's work...
..why hide behind Dillon?
Dillon didn't kill any of those boys.
I killed them.
All of them!
This is a sick...
attempt to take credit for another killer's crimes.
I said the same thing.
But...
he knows places... and times of death.
He kept the souvenirs that were never found.
The football shirt's just been identified by the parents of the second victim.
Maybe he knew Dillon,
helped him hide the evidence.
We spent over a year working on this. We got the right man.
Marcus Wright claims that there was a fourth boy killed
after Dillon went down.
The boy was white.
Marcus Wright said that he caught the lad stealing from a church.
Strangled him,
then buried him.
The police have dug up the skeleton of a
Caucasian boy where Marcus said he would be buried.
They found a note in the pocket of his anorak.
No, no, no. All the other boys were dumped in public places.
Why would he suddenly start burying his victims?
His mum was ill.
She needed him. He didn't wanna be found.
But then he confessed to her.
And she begged him to stop.
His mum died a few weeks ago.
If Marcus Wright is guilty...
it can't be your fault.
James.
It's him. We've put away the wrong man.
God, what a mess!
How the hell did it happen? We didn't act unfairly. We presented the evidence.
Dillon was a known racist who terrorised kids in the same area as the murders.
He sold knock-off trainers to the first boy.
His handwriting matched notes found on the bodies.
He was seen fighting with the last victim
and even had his DNA under his fingernails.
Well, they're expediting his appeal against wrongful conviction.
Don't ask me to feel sorry for him. He lived and breathed pure hate.
That may well be the case, but locking Dillon up
led to three more boys being killed.
'Malfeasance in public office.'
You can't target individuals.
Well, you did.
You wilfully abused your powers...
to build your case against my client.
Andrew Dillon.
We did everything by the book.
The jury found him guilty.
Selective prosecution, Mr Steel.
Mrs Janice Hunter made a statement to the police six years ago.
Saying that she saw the third victim
an hour after he was seen fighting with my client.
The boy was in Channing Arcade,
arguing with an older man whose description fits Marcus Wright.
Yeah. He was a black man.
The witness has since died.
I've never seen this before.
Oh, come on, Mr Steel.
We both know you buried it.
It's the basis of our claim against you. We intend to
investigate every last detail of your case - So do we.
..and sue you...for ã300,000.
And that will never be enough.
I spent five years in a cell about the size of this table.
And every time I stepped out, I took my life in my hands.
And you sent me there as a marked man.
The evidence... all pointed towards you.
Yeah. After you'd tampered with it.
And then there was your criminal record.
How many boys of ethnic minority had you beaten up?
Well, that's...hardly relevant here.
We're talking about three...
dead boys. What we need to do -
Look, it's your prejudice. Not mine.
You decided the killer had to be white.
And because of your inverted racism, I got put inside.
And as soon as I was arrested, I got beaten up. Well, now you know how those boys felt!
Yeah, now I get panic attacks.
And my face is in the paper.
All because you persecuted me!
You owe me.
You stole five years of my life.
No-one gave me a statement saying Dillon's victim was seen later with another man.
I'd remember. It would've jeopardised our case.
They're saying that was your motivation.
If I'd seen it, I'd've handed it over, however grudgingly.
Well, who worked with you on this? There were...a whole team of us.
Eight or nine when we were busiest. Who was your lead assistant?
Claudia Martin. Great prosecutor.
Then, let's talk to her.
See if she remembers anything.
When I heard about Marcus Wright, I thought James'd get in touch.
He would've come himself, but he's trying to track down the rest of the team.
Must be frantic.
How did Dillon's brief find this statement?
He wouldn't say. But James has no recollection of it.
Mm. Neither do I.
You'd remember something like that coming in.
It certainly would've helped Dillon's defence.
There were a few statements we fought to keep out of court, but not that one.
We can't find any record of it.
But then, there are boxes of case files to go through.
Tell me about it. That's a year of my life I'll never get back.
And to think this is the outcome.
Those poor boys.
How long have you worked with James? A few years.
Intense, isn't it?
I couldn't keep up the pace, sold out to private practice.
Which is fine. Apart from the clients.
Well, if you remember anything...
Did you speak to the rest of the team?
The ones I could track down.
Three quit the CPS saying they were overworked and underpaid. Never (!)
And the ones I did speak to all swear blind they never saw the statement.
Reception receives packages from the police most days.
All deliveries are signed for and logged when they come in.
Can you go back and check all the logbooks?
Course. And the receptionists?
You know, what if it didn't come in?
The police wanted to put Dillon away as much as we did.
We're tracking down the receptionists who were here at the time.
If they remember DS Brooks bringing it in -
I don't need anyone else's word for it. I trust Ronnie.
But a missing witness statement could amount to a criminal offence.
And it's my duty to investigate that.
I've got no choice, George. Fine. Go ahead.
But I know and trust my people too, and we have got nothing to hide.
That statement was the last thing we needed. I know.
Remember what you did with it? I'd've put it on a disk,
made a hard copy and brought it to you with any other evidence we had.
When? I don't know. It would've been addressed to you, though.
Remember who you gave it to? A receptionist, I guess.
Which one? Oh, I don't know. Young, female, wearing a suit.
Could be any of them. Well, it was six years ago. Sorry, mate.
I need you to check to see what date you entered the statement.
I will. But have you checked your office log to see who signed for it?
Alesha's on it. But I'm up against it. By the time she finds it,
I could be disbarred. I'm sorry!
What, you think it's our fault? No. That's not what I'm saying.
What's going on? Well, the CPS have lost some evidence and they're blaming us.
No, I am not blaming anyone.
I need to...find out what happened.
Look. Could you have made...
a mistake back then, during that time?
Sorry, James. What exactly do you mean,
'back then, during that time'?
We all make mistakes.
Outside pressures get to us. Just say what you're thinking, James.
Could a member of your team have buried the evidence and what you brought to me -
I can't believe you said it. You've got balls.
Leave it, Matt. It's OK. James.
I handed it in to the office. I'm sorry. I can't remember to who or when.
Look. I really need to find - James!
I need to find the statement! That does allow you to accuse my officers.
I'm not accusing anyone. If you've lost
evidence we gave you, it's your cockup, not ours.
So get your own house in order!
James, DI Chandler has just phoned.
Details of Janice Hunter's statement were entered onto the police database.
That still doesn't mean it came here. Dillon's defence team
received a copy of the witness schedule three days later.
Janice Hunter's name and statement weren't on it.
That schedule came from the CPS.
So somebody in these offices...
must've deleted it.
So somebody here must've signed for it.
Now we know it was here, we can find out who was on Reception.
They might remember who they gave it to. James, it's too late.
James Steel.
I'm arresting you on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.
You do not have to say anything, but if may harm your defence
if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court.
Anything you do say may be given in evidence.
To the charge of perverting the course of justice,
how do you plead?
Not guilty. Mr Cain?
(CLEARS THROAT) My Lord.
Crown objects to bail on the grounds that
the defendant will interfere with witnesses,
having already aggressively approached the
police investigation team at their place of work
and asked for their help. I wasn't interfering.
I'd ask Mr Steel not to interrupt, and remember
that he is present in this courtroom first and foremost
as a defendant.
Bail...will be granted...
with appropriate conditions. My Lord, one more thing.
I would like to conduct my defence from Counsel's Row.
Crown objects on the basis that this may be confusing to the jury.
How can it be fair and just for me to conduct my defence from the dock?
I can't possibly be afforded a fair trial in these circumstances.
I'll allow it. I think we can trust the jury
to understand that Mr Steel is on trial.
You brought me in to do an impartial job.
And to do that, I will need access to everything.
Sorry. Am I interrupting?
We haven't been introduced. Samuel Cain.
Alesha Phillips.
Miss Phillips, given that I'm going to be calling you as a witness,
I'm afraid it's not appropriate for you to be working in here.
In the interests of a fair trial.
This is my office. Not any more.
So please, take what you need and then set up in the paralegals' office.
We've cleared a space for you.
It's just a temporary measure, Alesha.
Well, I'll...leave you to it. No, don't disappear.
I need to go through a few details with you...for my opening.
Er, Miss Phillips. Can you give us a moment?
Thank you.
Hey. How are you doing?
I need you to do something for me.
Get me these files from the CPS.
They should be in the personnel system, so you might need to dig, but specifically,
these days in August six years ago. I'm not allowed
near our office. I'm not sure that I can.
Please. I have to find out who was in the office when that evidence came in.
James - It's my only hope. I wouldn't ask you otherwise.
(MOBILE RINGS)
Yeah.
(SIGHS)
You've been the defendant's lead assistant counsel for how long?
Over two years.
And in your close experience, would you say that the defendant has
the final say on every decision?
Yes. He's the lead prosecutor.
But he likes me to challenge him.
Do you have to challenge him often?
Yes.
I mean, he
- Did you have to challenge him during the Don Marsh case?
I don't remember.
Well, let me remind you. The defendant told Donald Marsh,
a known criminal,
that he had a witness who was willing to place him
at the scene of a crime.
When in fact... he had no such assurance.
Do you recall the case?
Yes.
Did you approve...of those methods?
Not at first. But I trus- Yes or no...
Miss Phillips? No.
Miss Phillips.
Has the defendant ever asked you to do anything dishonest?
Anything that might make you feel compromised
in the eyes of the law?
No.
Miss Martin, you worked very closely with the defendant
on the Andrew Dillon case. Yes.
18-hour days were usual.
Did you ever see him do anything illegal? No.
But...
Please. Go on, Miss Martin.
He'd interview several expert witnesses
before he found the one who said what he needed.
So, did the defendant... unfairly coerce these witnesses?
He told the handwriting expert on the Dillon case that his evidence
could prevent more children being killed.
This is hearsay from a prejudiced witness, My Lord.
Far from it, My Lord. Miss Martin was a devoted employee.
You'll have your chance to cross examine, Mr Steel.
Miss Martin. Why did you leave the CPS?
I was...uncomfortable with the defendant's way of working.
He was absolutely determined to convict Andrew Dillon.
Did you delete Janice Hunter's
witness statement? No.
I knew nothing about it.
Thank you, Miss Martin. No further questions, My Lord.
Is it true you were having an affair with the defendant during that time?
When did this happen?
Will you answer the question, please? My Lord. (CLEARS THROAT)
Is the er...witness's sexual history really relevant?
Absolutely, My Lord. If we're to believe this witness's testimony,
I must be allowed to question her motive for wanting to sully the reputation
of a former colleague. I'll allow it.
Could you answer the question, please? Yes or no?
Yes, I was. How long did the affair last?
Almost a year. Who ended the relationship?
You did. How did you feel when it ended?
Had you not told the defendant... that you loved him?
You planned a future together?
(You bastard.)
Sorry. Was that a yes or a no? Yes! I told you
I loved you. And when the affair ended, didn't you feel betrayed?
So betrayed that you claimed you could no longer carry on working at the CPS.
Betrayal is an interesting choice of word from a man who was cheating on his wife.
You're using this trial as a platform for revenge.
You're lying about why you left the CPS.
You used me.
You know...I'd have done anything for you.
Anything.
Which is exactly why the jury should see your evidence for what it is.
The emotional backlash of a woman scorned.
Did you get it?
Thank you.
This is everything? All the receptionists?
What? You really will do anything to win, won't you?
I had to discredit her evidence against me.
So she was just collateral damage.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Do you know what your success rate is as a prosecutor?
No. I've no idea. I don't keep a record of it.
Well, I can tell you.
It's 93%.
Which is...very high.
Are you proud of those results?
I'd be happier if it was 100.
Is that what drives you...Mr Steel?
Winning?
No. It's about...
doing my job properly.
If I believe er... the accused to be guilty,
I have to do everything I can to
prove that to the jury. Everything you can?
Tell me. After Dr Alec Merrick
was acquitted of rape in Crown & Merrick 2009, is it true
that you then had him publicly arrested
on a fictional rape charge?
Dr Alec Merrick...
abused his position and attacked 14 women.
I used the system to get him back into court.
I would say you found a highly questionable loophole.
No. I gave his victims a voice
by exploiting a flaw in the system. A flaw in the system? Yes.
Mr Steel.
Are you so assured of your own abilities that you believe you're somehow...
above the legal system in this country?
I'm sorry. I didn't realise I was on trial here
for the successful prosecution of a serial rapist. You're not.
But in order to try and give your victims their voice, as you put it,
you take the law into your own hands, Mr Steel.
And for that...you are on trial.
I do my best to work within a system
that I cherish and respect.
These courtrooms are...
They're cathedrals to anyone who believes in -
But who, in these...cathedrals...
Mr Steel...allowed you to play God?
And who are you to say who is guilty or innocent,
regardless of the law? It isn't about playing God, Mr Cain.
Are you sure? Absolutely, yes!
There is no value whatever in putting away
the wrong man for my pride or your statistics.
Because they mean nothing.
To stand where you're standing now is an honour, Mr Cain. Yes.
And that honour carries a responsibility.
The responsibility, if necessary, to take away someone's liberty.
Which is why the abuse of that responsibility
is such a serious crime. What happens, Mr Steel,
when you see a piece of evidence
which shatters your clearcut image of right and wrong?
I go back and I rebuild my case.
Because that's what we do, you and I. We build walls.
Pieces of...evidence are like...
blocks of stone, and each block is dragged into place.
So that when we stand in court, we have a wall that can't be breached.
If Defence have something that can take away one of those blocks,
the walls tumble down and I lose.
We all lose, because I haven't done my job properly.
Which is precisely why we're here.
Who was the lead prosecutor on this case?
I was. So, who should ultimately take responsibility...
for you not doing your job?
For this terrible...miscarriage
of justice.
If I'd seen that statement...
..I would never have buried it,
knowing that the real killer could still be out there and might kill again.
With the evidence incomplete, Mr Steel, that is exactly what happened.
Your walls...came tumbling down.
No further questions, My Lord.
Er...My Lord, I'd like to call one further witness.
It's very late in the day, Mr Steel.
I apologise for that, My Lord.
I'd like to call Sally-Anne Hope
to the witness box. (Who's Sally-Anne Hope?)
No idea.
I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give
shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
What do you do for a living, Miss Hope?
I'm a paralegal secretary.
Have you always done legal work? Yes. Ever since I started temping.
And you did temp work at the CPS, Ludgate Hill.
Yes. When did you work there? Precisely.
Six years ago, for two weeks in August.
Your memory seems very clear on this. Can you tell the court why?
It was during the buildup to the Andrew Dillon trial. It was all over the news.
I remember the police coming to the house, telling us
not to let anyone under 16 out on their own.
And how did that affect you personally?
My brother was 10 at the time.
I had to get him to school before I could come to work.
It was my first job and I was worried about being late.
Do you remember... (CLEARS THROAT)
a CID officer coming to Reception on the 11th of August?
Yes. He gave me a package.
Said it contained evidence about the Dillon case.
What did you do with it? First chance I got,
I handed it to one of the prosecution team.
Do you remember who you gave it to, Miss Hope?
Yes.
Is that person... here in the courtroom today?
Yes.
Could you point them out to the jury, please?
It was that lady there.
In relation to the count of perverting the course of justice,
do you find the defendant, James Steel, guilty or not guilty?
Not guilty.
You can't blame yourself, James.
We can only do what we believe is right.
I should've known.
Despite my recent acquittal,
there was a miscarriage of justice.
For which I hold myself responsible.
That wrongful conviction led to the deaths of three children.
Which is unforgivable.
Therefore, my position has become untenable.
And...I'm resigning from the CPS with immediate effect.
(PRESS CLAMOUR)
It's weird...coming to work and you're not there.
You'll get used to it.
Bet you'll have forgotten I was even there in a few weeks.
Don't be silly.
It'll be a few days, once I've cleared your desk out! (LAUGHS)
Alesha...
(MOBILE RINGS)
It's George.
I have to... Yeah, yeah. Sure.
George.
I'm on my way back now.
I spoke to the woman at Longlife Direct.
Can he...pick up the hard copies?
No, it's all right.
Or I can e-mail them.
Mm-hm.
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