Our verdicts in the dock

HERE'S a feature-length special on 5 tonight called YOU BE THE JUDGE: CRIME & PUNISHMENT.

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At least, that’s what it’s called as I write this. The people at 5 do have a habit of faffing with their programmes’ titles, sometimes several times over, so by the time it goes out (at 9pm) it may well be called something different, such as Lock Them Up And Throw Away The Key.

Not that this would be a bad alternative. It would certainly reflect the way many of us will react to this programme, as presenter Anne Robinson acknowledges at the start. What we're about to watch, she informs us, is “an experiment”.

I’m not sure this is strictly accurate.

It’s more of an opportunity to compare our views on the justice system to those whose perspectives may differ.