A common issue in today’s society is the increasing number of young people who are being sentenced for joint enterprise. There are many arguments for and against this law due to many not wanting innocent people locked up for a crime they witnessed, or being sentenced for observing dangerous and illegal actions which isn’t actually their fault. I believe joint enterprise should no longer be used. The reason for this is because I personally think only the one who commits the crime should hold a punishment. I do believe those who took part deserve to be punished too, just not as severely. This leaves us wondering: are the wrong people going to jail?
To begin with, there has been a massive increase in the amount of people being jailed for joint enterprise. Around 1,800 people have been charged with homicide under the controversial, legal principal of joint enterprise in the past 8 years. As well as this, between 2005 and 2013 there were 1,853 people prosecuted in England and Wales for homicide in a charge that involved more than 4 people. A large problem that joint enterprise caused were people being convicted however police weren’t clear who actually delivered the fatal blow, this meant that the person committing it could actually have escaped punishment. If there isn’t evidence that you are
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The issue is, people have different opinions; those who have witnessed or known someone who’s been accused of joint enterprise are more likely to be against it then those in public who only know the outside story. This shows that many people don’t actually understand its use and if they did they would dislike the law. Additionally, those not even present at the scene of a crime can be found guilty of murder. This shows that the “lazy law” takes time off police officer’s hands making it easier to jail anyone