Excessive use of charging powers observed in joint enterprise trials, say researchers

Exclusive: Appeal charity says some defendants in England and Wales charged with murder over ‘voluntary presence’ at crime scene

Researchers who spent six months observing joint enterprise trials have found excessive use of powers, with individuals charged with murder despite only tenuous connections with the crime.

The findings from the miscarriage of justice charity Appeal add to concerns surrounding the doctrine, which allows defendants in England and Wales to be convicted of crimes they did not physically carry out if they are deemed to have encouraged or assisted the perpetrator.