I HOPE Messrs Jackson, Snowden, Chapman and Barnes never find themselves or a loved one jailed for a crime they didn't commit (Letters, March 17).

I fully agree with their sentiments but the Court of Appeal is also there to stop miscarriages of justice.

In the "good old days" of hanging what chance did you have of trying to prove your innocence if you were dangling by a rope around your neck six inches off the ground?

How many times during the course of history has new evidence turned up which proved someone innocent only for a posthumous pardon to be granted because that convicted person was executed?

I accept that evidence gathering has moved on but sometimes there is a flaw and sometimes an innocent person is jailed for something they haven't done.

PR Willey,

Burnholme Drive,

Heworth, York.

Updated: 10:41 Saturday, March 19, 2005