WHERE IS JUSTICE NOW?
Produced and presented by Byline Times
What should justice look like in 2026? Can it be found in a society increasingly torn between punishment without mercy and power without consequence?
Human societies have always made choices about how we respond to the people that cause harm. But the age old question – whether to forgive or to punish – is not always such a simple one.
Today, certain people experience drastic consequences for minor infractions, while other powerful perpetrators seem to exist far outside of the reach of accountability altogether.
The apparatus of justice itself is under strain, with unprecedented prison overcrowding and court backlogs. In an attempt to clear the judicial blockage, Government is looking to restrict the democratic right to be heard by ones peers and be tried in front of a jury – provoking further arguments about what fundamental protections we’re willing to sacrifice.
Hosts Byline Times' editor-in-chief, Hardeep Matharu, and co-founder Peter Jukes are joined by Frances Crook, former Chief Executive of the UK’s oldest penal reform charity (founded in 1866), The Howard League for Penal Reform, and Jennifer Nadel, barrister, campaigner for political accountability, and co-founder of Compassion in Politics.
As well as expert insights and deep-dive debates, there will be surprise readings from literary and theatrical classics that tackle questions of justice, and we’ll have more speakers to announce soon.
We do hope you’ll come along, grab a drink, and join us for an open Byline Times-style discussion in the round.
Monday 12 October. Discussion starts at 7:30pm