Criminal Trials in London
Just thought I'd mention this to fans of this show and others like it: On a recent visit to London we attended a murder trial at The Old Bailey and it was something to see.
We had been to a civil trial earlier (coincidentally the case involved Bruce Springsteen suing his manager and as we are Americans we enjoyed seeing "The Boss" in that setting.) but this was very different.
We queued up in an alley outside the main courthouse of the Bailey and were soon screened, searched and educated on what was proper for visitors. Once upstairs (and I do mean upstairs--no lifts) we queued again and were briefed about the charges and warned that this defendant was considered to be of the most dangerous sort---guarded by five officers --and that the details might be disturbing to some people.
With all this in mind we were escorted into the viewing gallery. The setting was just as one might imagine, the robed and bewigged Judge and barristers looked very much like the set of one of the many British crime dramas we enjoy at home.
Although this was riveting the gravity of the case soon weighed down on us. This man before us was accused of murdering his domestic partner and later attacking and attempting to rape and nuder a woman he saw in a neighborhood park simply because she resembled the woman he had just killed.
He had very little in the way of a defense but his representatives were arguing "diminished capacity" which is similar to what we would call in the U.S. mental illness.
Naturally this was settled the day we were there but I read later in British papers that his defense had failed and he was sentenced to life without parole.