Season 1
Criminal Justice is an English television thriller series written by Peter Moffatt, produced by the BBC and starring Ben Whishaw as Ben Coulter, a young man who is accused of murder after a drunken and drug-filled night out, though is unable to remember committing the crime.
The series premiered in the UK on BBC One on 30 June, 2008.
Criminal Justice premiered in South Africa on DStv's BBC Entertainment channel on Monday 8 June 2009, at 20h30. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Repeats
Daily: 00h00
Season 1
One mad night and Ben Coulter's (Ben Whishaw) life is changed forever. As he gets ready to go out on the town, the 21-year-old looks in the mirror. It will be the last time he's able to recognise the person who looks back.
Little does Ben know that a wild encounter with sexy, young Melanie Lloyd will tear his life apart. They go for a ride in his father's black cab and a crazy evening ensues.
Within 24 hours he will be charged with murder and – what's worse – he can't remember what happened the night before.
What follows is a rollercoaster ride through the criminal justice system across the five episodes; where the truth is optional and what counts is playing the game, in order to come out on top.
No one wants to hear Ben's side of the story; a complex game of cat and mouse begins as soon as he is arrested, played out between the duty solicitor, the world-weary Stone (Con O'Neill) and the pugnacious DCI Box (Bill Paterson).
Ben's shocked parents don't know where to turn and deep down there is a terrifying doubt: could their son really be a murderer?
Ben's world becomes a labyrinth of oppressive places: police station, prison and courtroom. As Ben steps off the prison bus he has to learn to survive alongside cellmates and hardened career criminals Hooch (Pete Postlethwaite) and Freddie Graham (David Harewood).
Lost in this alien world, Ben has little sense of where things start or finish, and who is in charge.
Cast and Characters
Ben Whishaw plays Ben Coulter
Ben is a regular 21-year-old with a sensitive nature and a trusting, happy-go-lucky outlook. At the end of an uncharacteristic drug- and drink-fuelled night out, he finds himself charged with murder.
Unable to recall what transpired with all the evidence pointing towards him, Ben is looking at a life sentence. He thinks if he tells the truth, he will be believed – his legal team, however, know otherwise.
Bill Paterson plays Detective Superintendent Harry Box
DSI Box is a cynical copper who relies on his gut instinct when it comes to assessing the innocence, or otherwise, of the suspects before him. He is evangelical about avenging the victims of crime but has made a pact with the devil in order to protect the unwitting public.
Up against the practical obstacles of small budgets, lack of manpower and legal restrictions, Box has allowed the criminals to police themselves as long as they leave the public alone. His wilful blindness has terrible consequences.
Pete Postlethwaite plays Hooch
Hooch is an insightful, world-weary, once-violent criminal. He has finally learnt to stop fighting what he can't overcome and has found a place for himself in the world as a "listener", a therapist and emotional support to his fellow inmates. Ben's plight draws out all Hooch's protective instincts as he puts himself on the line for his friend.
David Harewood plays Freddy Graham
Graham is a cultured, highly intelligent crime lord who is as adept at manipulating and reading the psychology of his fellow inmates and prison guards as he is at drug-running. He gains sadistic enjoyment from corrupting Ben, and his pleasure is intensified when he realises that Ben might be innocent.
Lindsay Duncan plays Alison Slaughter
Charming and ruthless by turns, Slaughter is forensic in her execution of an argument and is sure of her own brilliance – unruffled by any setbacks and more than confident of winning a seemingly unwinnable case. At the end of the day, she is undone by her own arrogance in ignoring the wishes of her client in how she presents his case.
Con O'Neill plays Stone
Pragmatic above all, Ben's solicitor could be considered cynical but for his fervent belief that it's the professional results that matter, rather than how you achieve them or whether his client is innocent or guilty.
Stone's instinct for what will best serve their case is unerring, and Frances and Ben ignore his advice to their peril. Stone is dogged in his fight to get the best possible result for his client.
Vineeta Rishi plays Frances Kapoor
Fatally idealistic and dangerously close to professionally reckless, Frances lets her heart do the driving. Frances believes that if she acquiesces to her client's desire to simply tell the truth, then justice will prevail. Her lack of cynicism and pragmatism have catastrophic results, but her loyalty and perseverance could help save the day.
Ian Peck plays Milroy
A psychopathically violent career criminal, Milroy is a bully in search of a victim – and Ben is it.
Ruth Negga plays Melanie Lloyd
Beautiful, mysterious and charismatic, Melanie proves to be irresistible to the normally cautious Ben.
David Westhead plays Barry Coulter
Barry is a pathologically loyal father to Ben, who ignores all evidence that points to his son's certain guilt.
Juliet Aubrey plays Mary Coulter
Ben's devoted mother loves her son no less for believing that he really is a murderer.
Sam Alexander plays PC Simon Jeary
PC Jeary is a wet-behind-the-ears constable who, despite his tender years, holds his own with Slaughter under cross examination.
Holly Atkins plays PC Karen Briggs
PC Briggs is a police officer whose demeanour is tougher than she first appears.
Johann Myers plays Roland Roy
Freddy Graham's henchman is, by turns, amusing and menacing.
Seasons
The series airs exclusively on BBC Entertainment as part of its annual "Crime & Justice" season. Episodes broadcast nightly, at 20h30. There are five episodes per season.
Season 1
Premiere: 8 June 2009 | Finale: 12 June 2009
Season 2
Premiere: 26 July 2010 | Finale: 30 July 2010