Should a person who is acquitted after spending time in jail pending a trial have the right to compensation? In the light of the recent Jerry Fubler case, defence lawyer Mr. Archibald Warner has called for financial compensation for those who are wrongfully imprisoned.

Fubler was held in remand for more than a year before he was tried and acquitted.

Most Hamilton shoppers who responded to the question agreed that some form of compensation should be awarded.

"They should be compensated,'' said defence lawyer Mr. Tim Marshall.

"Their liberty has been taken from them and then the same system finds them innocent of the charges.'' "There should be compensation for the depravation of liberty,'' he said.

"But the onus has to be on the person in remand by showing they have made a good faith effort to appeal it.'' Former crown prosecutor, now defence lawyer, Ms Sharon Kenny agreed.

"There should be an effort to make trial come on as quickly as possible,'' she said.

"On the whole, people are remanded because they have a bad background, are likely to interfere with prosecution witnesses or leave the jurisdiction.

Otherwise most get bail.

"But it is a deprival of liberty and they should be compensated,'' she said.

"On the other hand, should the state be compensated by those who waste the court's time?'' she asked.

But a third lawyer, who wished to remain anonymous disagreed.

"I don't think they should be compensated,'' she said. "It would only hamper the justice system from operating correctly.

"If the Police felt that someone could sue them for damages they are less likely to do their jobs well.

"The justice system already takes care of any excesses because a person in remand has plenty of opportunity to appeal it,'' she said.

Others agreed but thought the question of how to assess damages would prove difficult.

"How are you going to compensate them?'' asked Mr. Conway Bennett. "You can't get their reputations back and you can't quantify the damage done.

"In my opinion there is a problem with the legal system. Court procedure should be made much quicker and more efficient,'' he said.

"At the moment the legal procedure is way too slow.'' Another pointed out that incarcerating a person before he is tried, negates the premise that he is innocent until proved otherwise.

"If a person is innocent until he is proven guilty in a court of law then the time he spends in remand, isn't that in a sense saying he is guilty?'' he asked.

"If a person is not caught red-handed and there are no witnesses, he should not be held on remand. His whole life is disrupted if it turns out he is innocent. It's not fair,'' he said.

Mr. Tracey Tucker agreed.

"Sometimes people get accused of something that has nothing to do with them.

"They may lose their job in the process and a lot of money especially if they are self-employed. Their whole life is destroyed and so they should be compensated for the money lost.

"Government should give back every dime or at least should get them a new job,'' he said.

But according to Mr. Anthony Bailey, loss of reputation should also be compensated.

"If someone is previously employed and has lost his income, he has the right to compensation.

"If he is incarcerated and found not guilty his reputation is tarnished and he will lose his job. It is very difficult for him to find another job,'' he said.

"I think they should be entitled to compensation, especially if it is found that what they are charged with has nothing to do with them,'' said Ms Penny Tucker.

"Why can't Government compensate them even if we have to pay in the end,'' she protested.

Ms Tyanika Dickinson agreed.

"If they have suffered a big loss from it, they probably do deserve compensation although I don't know who would pay.'' Others, however, thought that it is the price to be paid for justice.

"No, I don't think they should be given anything,'' said one woman. "You don't know whether they are guilty or not. And who's going to pay for it? Us again.'' "It all depends on what they've done,'' said another. "In my opinion it's just too bad -- I don't think they should receive compensation.'' Mr. Conway Bennett Ms Sharon Kenny Ms Tyanika Dickinson Mr. Tim Marshall Mr. Anthony Bailey Mr. Tracey Tucker