The right to defend yourself

and appeal against a conviction is apparently under question. Mr Commonsense's death has also resulted in the birth of a great many more legal experts. 
There has been a good sized chunk of the news given over to the sentencing of someone found guilty of covering up child sexual abuse.  It is only in the very last part of a lengthy piece in this morning's paper that anything has been said about the fact that the person who has been convicted plans to appeal.
He has not apologised. He has not expressed any contrition. He has not admitted to any crime. He plans to appeal.
Now let it be said here that I in no way condone an attempt to cover up anything like child sexual abuse. Mr "It's not my responsibility" needs to be shown the door. You need to deal with the problem as a matter of urgency. 
That won't always be easy. If the accused is a member of your family, or someone else you are close to, or a colleague then it becomes even more difficult.
It is also often very difficult to believe any such action on the part of someone we know. It would be particularly difficult if the accuser was someone we did not know or if we had some reason to doubt them. 
Evidence in cases of sexual abuse is particularly difficult. A great deal of reliance is placed on the victim's account. In this instance the events took place forty years ago. There are all sorts of problems with those accounts.  They can grow and change in people's minds. No, they aren't lying. They believe what they are saying. That's part of the problem. 
But in all of that there are people who are guilty and people who are not guilty. There are people who should have acted and did not act. 
There is also an appeals process and, until that has run its course, the legal "experts" outside the court room should wait before accusing anyone of not showing contrition.