Crime legislations vary from one country to another according to the authorities’ decisions, regarding the crime rate in their country. However, British and Australian laws legislate that a judge cannot access information about the criminal’s past history of crime in order to safeguard the accused person. Regarding this, some advocates suggested that this law should undergo some changes, making the jury aware of all past crime before making his final decision. Although giving information to the jury about the criminal may provide some benefits, I am inclined to the opinion that this law should not be modified.
Giving the past history of the accused person to the judge may result in injustice. If the criminal had committed crimes or actions against the law in the past, this might affect the decision taken in the court, resulting in a wrong decision if the person was innocent. Having conducted extensive psychological research on the psychological impact on judges produced by learning about the history of criminals, experts suggest that being informed with negative behaviors results in biased penalties. Therefore, the previous mentioned law is crucial for protecting accused innocent people.
However, if the crimes are related to each other, such as the crimes committed by serial killers, there should be exceptions for these cases. When crimes are ambiguous and there are little clues, past crimes may help to solve newer ones. Unless this is the situation, past criminal records should have confidentiality. It was reported in the newspapers that many crimes can be connected to each other because of a psychological disorder that the criminal has. Thereby, this is a possibility that should be taken into consideration.
In conclusion, regarding the laws legislated for crime repercussions in Britain and Australia, they emphasize that a jury should have any information about the past criminal record of the accused person. While some people support this law, some lawyers contend that this law should be changed. Although this law may have some drawbacks, I am firmly of the opinion that it should not be refined. However, it may have some exceptions. Not only does this law provide justice, but it also ensures security.