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Tuesday 18 February 2014

The Presumption of Guilt !


Everyone has a picture in their minds eye when they think of a place and, for most, the thought of the Central Criminal Court - The Old Bailey, conjures up the iconic image of Lady Justice with her scales in one hand and sword in the other ! This is what that statue is supposed to represent !

 Lady Justice is most often depicted with a set of scales typically suspended from her right hand, upon which she measures the strengths of a case's support and opposition.[citation needed] She is also often seen carrying a double-edged sword in her left hand, symbolizing the power of Reason and Justice, which may be wielded either for or against any party.[citation needed]


Instead of using the Janus approach, many sculptures simply leave out the blindfold altogether. For example, atop the Old Bailey courthouse in London, a statue of Lady Justice stands without a blindfold;[7] the courthouse brochures explain that this is because Lady Justice was originally not blindfolded, and because her “maidenly form” is supposed to guarantee her impartiality which renders the blindfold redundant.

Up until 1868, the Old Bailey was a site of public execution and above is a photo of 'Dead Man's Walk ' Not a very pleasant experience, for moor reasons than one !



Worse still, up to 1868 you had an audience !


The wealthy could afford to rent 'window boxes' in the galleries that overlooked the gallows, so they could see the hanging without being crushed and enjoy a better view.
Such was the popularity of seeing criminals hang, 28 people died in a crush in 1807 after a crowd grew out of control.

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2341560/Behind-locked-doors-Old-Bailey-Exclusive-pictures-reveal-363-year-old-dead-mans-walk-Britains-evil-killers-led-gallows.html

The artist known as 'Banksy' had another image for Lady Justice, he made his own statue and invited the public to view it's unveiling in Clerkinwell in 2004 !

 


























http://www.artofthestate.co.uk/Banksy/Banksy_justice_monument.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3537136.stm


On the morning of the 29th November 2012, an image described as a 'Banksy style mural' appeared just outside the entrance of BBC Televison Centre in Shepherds Bush London !




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2240304/Banksy-style-mural-child-throwing-Jimll-Fix-It-badge-drain-removed-near-BBC-Television-Centre.html

I guess that this would have been around the time that the Newsnight fiasco was brought to the nations attention by our glorious main stream media. Interestingly enough, the article contains this line !

 However a spokesman for the artist denied it was his handiwork.

I like to believe that Mr Banksy whoever he is has more intelligence than to be fooled by a televison program. More importantly, I hope that Lady Justice does not lose the use of one of her arms. Justice needs all the help it can get, eh Mr Banksy !

 

 

4 comments:

  1. It's a terrible thing is Honesty. Terrible thing. In fact it's so rare these days is Honesty, that it's a gimmick.Know what I mean?

    Jimmy Savile - 1974.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Check out Spiked today: http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/Yewtree_more_propaganda_than_police_investigation/14686#.UwM3NVKPPcs

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  3. They are heading in the right direction ! I may open a book on the likelihood that Jimmy Savile and the word 'innocent' will be in the same sentence (of 4 words) on the front page of a major Newspaper B4 the end of the year !!!

    ReplyDelete