Letter: Woodward trial

Sir: A jury is only a committee and, like any such body, is likely to lean in the direction of those who happen to be its most dominant and vocal members. How many members of how many juries have not stifled reasonable doubts out of a combination of deference and weariness?

Acceptance of the reliability of jury verdicts is an act of faith; it ought to be founded on experimental research.

P J STEWART

Oxford