Through many years of experience with the justice system, it seems to me to work something like this: It is a system which trawls for crime. Many criminals slip the net -- many do get caught -- however some are caught who are innocent. The trouble is, once the innocent are in the net, they have a double disadvantage. If they have been falsely accused, then the accusers -- whether inside the system or out -- cannot easily back out -- they face charges of negligence, perjury, and so on. They may feel that they have to go on. And if it has come as far as a false arrest or imprisonment, it is very difficult for the system to back off -- it similarly faces judgements and penalties, and so on. Again, it may feel that it has to go on. There have been a few celebrated cases, but it happens in smaller ways all the time. OBSERVATION: Behind the scenes, there are various "side steps" in such situations.
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