Error of Judgement

In November 1974, the Mulberry Bush pub in Birmingham was blown up by a bomb allegedly planted by members of the IRA. The loss of 21 lives made it the biggest mass murder in British history and instigated an intensive police hunt for the perpetrators. Within hours, six Irishmen in a circumstantial grouping were rounded up and detained for trial. Because of controversy surrounding their guilt, Mullin, a journalist and a Labour Party functionary, was commissioned by Granada television to investigate the case. He argues that the six men, who claimed innocence, were prejudged as guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment despite evidence that they were suborned and that forensic findings were questionable. All of this is carefully examined by Mullin who assembles a convincing picture of a miscarriage of justice. Photos. (April 7)