Skleff Yird

An English criminal jury consists of 12 randomly chosen adult members of the public; in Scotland it’s 15. Either way, the possibility of a fair trial is only as great as the capacity of those adults to think logically and unemotionally. That all 15 should do so is highly unlikely, because people’s logic and emotions are very fallible.

In the recent English county council elections, around a third of people voted, and about 40% of those voted for the Faragists. A few folk will have had valid reasons for boycotting the elections or have been unable to take part for other reasons, but around two thirds of the electorate couldn’t be bothered. The Apathy Party triumphed, as it usually does at local level. In a jury of 12, then, on average 8 might well be less than committed to achieving the goal of providing the correct decision.

Of the other 4, it’s likely that at least 1, probably 2, are either simple-minded, racists or both. Their lack of resistance to logical argument, and desire to be on the winning side no matter what, mean that they are likely to along with whatever is the opinion of the jury’s dominant member. That person’s dominance will probably arise from having a loud voice, bullying manner and lack of inhibition. People with these characteristics used to be looked down upon; now they are not just celebrated but are being elected into government, most noticeably in the USA.

A committed racist will hold the view that a non-white person is intellectually and morally inferior and consequently much more likely to be a criminal or a liar. Others will take the same approach if a defendant or witness is gay, or on benefits, or has expressed opinions that differ from the mainstream.

Then there are people who are simply unable to recognise a fact when they see or hear it. An average jury will be likely to include one or more people that think Covid 19 was a hoax, that 9/11 was an inside job and/or that the world is flat. If you can bring yourself to do it, try reading the stuff on Twitter, where conspiracies abound; from mind-altering drugs in the water supply to underground tunnels where paedophiles in the Democrat Party hold their victims captive. One doing the rounds just now says that there is a conspiracy to block out the sun’s rays, run by the very same people that are installing solar panels on British farmland. That is, proponents of solar power are deliberately sabotaging their own work and leaving the people of the so-called Western World short of electricity.

It’s impossible to convince a deluded person that his/her conspiracy theory is false or illogical, so a juror whose mind is made up, regardless of the evidence, that the accused’s alibi is made up, or that the police have fitted him/her up, will stick firmly to that position no matter what.

I have a confession to make. I have not ticked the box to allow my organs to be harvested after my death, because I don’t want there to be any possibility that my liver, kidneys or corneas might vote for Reform UK. I don’t trust the average human being not to be a gomeril or a bam. Those election results came as a nasty shock to me; even my mum’s new local county councillor is a racist. A virus – as deadly in its own way as Covid – is sweeping the world from its base in the USA and spreading on the internet and in the media. Symptoms include stupidity, gullibility, inability or unwillingness to empathise, laziness, moral cowardice and a raging superiority complex.

It’s called fascism.