Convicting Britain's Most Ruthless Criminals: Case Files for the Prosecution

Safely convicting criminals relies on finding the truth. But what is the truth and can we ever get the complete picture? Convicting Britain’s Most Ruthless Criminals is a collection of serious crime cases in modern Britain. It gives a detailed insight into the amassing of evidence for the prosecution and how the truth can be uncovered, given that there is always a piece of evidence missing, whether it is a hidden fortune, an elusive murder weapon or even an undiscovered body.

Drawing on unique access to the case files and speeches of a leading crown prosecutor combined with expert witness information, these are fascinating stories of criminal acts, their perpetrators, and how they were brought to justice by putting together a jigsaw of evidence, much of which has never been revealed before, which includes ballistics, pathology, mobile phone records and CCTV analysis. Enough to get as close to the real truth as possible, given that the picture of each jigsaw is never completely revealed.

There is the case of an appeal by woman who was convicted of killing her husband decades ago, a bungled robbery that ended up as murder, a staged gem heist only uncovered years later during a plea-bargaining exercise, a death in police custody, a serial killer who decided to confess, and a brothel keeper maintaining that he was simultaneously providing a community service whilst servicing the Greek national debt.

The cases are intertwined with stories and anecdotes including the juror who ended up being convicted, how the gangland drugs scene became big business and why there is so much dressing up in court.

VIVIEN HOLLAND has had a life-long fascination with crime. Her role as a lay member of the judiciary has opened her eyes to the way that the British justice system works. Looking at cases from the perspective of the prosecution, she has observed many criminal trials. Her interest in how different pieces of evidence are collected and pieced together to secure a safe conviction led to the idea for Convicting Britain’s Most Ruthless Criminals, her first book.