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Coroners and Justice Bill

Of course I hear what the noble Lord, Lord Low, says, but I shall come back, if I may, to the very good point made by the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, when he asked what it means if there is a jury of 12 men and women good and true, 10 of whom decide that there are extenuating circumstances, but 12 of whom conclude that there was murder. There will then be two people on the jury who believe in a full-blown murder without any extenuating circumstances. That is the basis on which they will have convicted the defendant, while others disagree. The jury is being asked to determine a complex set of scenarios. That does not bring clarity or simplicity; it brings complexity. The noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, was right to raise it, as was the noble Lord, Lord Elystan-Morgan, with his experience of the circuit bench, who asked about regional differences.