I AM sure Rosemary Suttill was misquoted in reportedly saying "Justice is not always fair." ("Why standing up for your beliefs can prove costly", January 9).

Justice and the law are two totally different things. Justice is, I suggest, understood by most people. Generally, it supposes the guilty should be brought to book, and that the innocent should be protected, and certainly not punished. The law, on the other hand, is understood by few, and is big business. If favours those who are smart enough to know the law. It is implacable towards those who simply believe in justice.

Three hundred and forty-three years ago, a group of Yorkshire folk set out to reform the law. They were hanged out of hand. The trustees of the Promenade Working Men's Club, in York, should congratulate themselves that, in these more enlightened days, the law is content merely to see the innocent face financial ruin.

William Dixon Smith,

Welland Rise, Acomb, York.

Updated: 11:30 Wednesday, January 11, 2006