Unlawful Killings: Life, Love and Murder: Trials at the Old Bailey

Wendy Joseph KC recently stepped down as one of only a handful of judges qualified to preside over murder trials at the Old Bailey. And one of the few female ones at that.

For the first time, she can talk about what it’s really like presiding over and ruling on life-changing cases. Through six extraordinary stories, Joseph will explore why we kill, what happens in court and what this teaches us about the society we live in.

Only at the Old Bailey is the murder trial the staple diet of a judge. Joseph has presided over many of the high-profile cases that all too often grab our attention in dramatic media headlines. But, unlike most of us, a judge doesn’t get to turn the page and move one. Nor does the defendant, of the family of the victim, nor the many other people who populate the court room. And yet each of us have a vested interest in what happens there. And while most people have only the sketchiest idea of what happens inside a Crown Court, any one of us could end up in the witness box or even in the dock.

With skill and deep compassion, Joseph will describe how cases unfold and illustrate exactly what it’s like to be a murder trial judge and a witness to human good and bad. The fracture lines that run through our society are becoming harder and harder to ignore. From a unique vantage point, Joseph will warn that we do so at our peril.