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| 1940s & 1950s MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE & MENTAL HEALTH REFORMS Graphic from the cover of the
NCCL's ground-breaking report
on the mental health system
'50,000 Outside The Law' BBC Ban
During the 1940s Liberty led protests against a BBC ban on artists who attended a ‘People’s Convention’ organised by the Communist party.
Miscarriage of Justice
At this time Liberty was also involved in several miscarriage of justice cases, including that of Emery, Powers and Thompson who were sentenced to between four and ten years imprisonment for assaulting a police officer, even though someone else confessed to the crime and the prosecution evidence is flawed. Liberty found a witness who confirmed the men’s alibi and they were released from prison and granted a royal pardon.
Mental Health System
During the 1950s Liberty successfully campaigned for reform of the mental health system, under which people known to be sane but deemed ‘morally defective’ – unmarried mothers, for example – could be locked up in an asylum.
By 1957, Liberty’s campaign saw the release of around 2,000 former inmates, the abolition of the Mental Health Act 1913 and the establishment of new Mental Health Review Tribunals, at which Liberty regularly represented the interests of patients.
| Read the special birthday messages we've received from famous Liberty supporters including Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Patrick Stewart, Joanna Lumley and many others. Download a PDF of the full-page birthday advert we placed in The Guardian newspaper on 24 February 2009. On Saturday 6 June 2009 we held a special conference looking back at 75 years of Liberty.
Visit our Issues section for an overview of the areas we currently work in. All our news releases from 2001 onwards are available online, documenting nearly a decade of our campaigning work. You can read all our recent reports, briefings and consultation responses here.
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