I have long thought that in this country, if you have the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time you can get yourself put into prison, perhaps for a large number of years, on the flimsiest of evidence, supposition or prejudice (the latter even in the minds of the judiciary).
(Messrs Jekyll and Hyde gave some attention to the meaning of that word 'reasonable', as in 'beyond reasonable doubt' - so strangely unrelated to 'beyond reason'.)
For the near-comfortable middle classes, such as myself, that is a disaster that may only descend out of the blue in the most exceptional cases, but for large minority sections of our population being in the wrong place at the wrong time is a near permanent condition.
