Originally Posted by
Thoughtful_Flyer
I struggle to see how there was a realistic prospect of conviction on the charges that were laid. That is the proper test of whether a prosecution should have been brought, not the number of people who sadly lost their lives.
There are
two tests that a case must satisfy before a prosecution will take place.
The first is the evidential test - the "realistic prospect of conviction" to which you refer. That simply means that, in the view of the CPS, a jury is more likely to convict than not.
The second is the public interest test, which takes into account a number of factors including the amount of loss or harm resulting from the alleged offence. In this case, the fact that 11 members of the public were killed would obviously be one of those factors.
Clearly not all cases that pass those tests result in a guilty verdict, and this wasn't one. Hindsight, after the verdict, is a wonderful thing.