The Jury: Murder Trial, Season 2

 4 x 1hr for Channel 4

This BAFTA-winning series returns with a gripping restaging of a real-life murder case - with actors - and a jury of 12 ordinary people. A young mother says she killed her boyfriend in self-defence, but is she telling the truth? Will the jury deliver justice with their decision, and will they agree with the verdict of the original trial?

 Filmed in Liverpool's former Crown Court, the case is based on actual court transcripts of a real case, with names, dates and locations have been changed. The series offers unprecedented access as it is illegal to observe jurors in a real trial, but we watch the jurors in this trial, as every court session unfolds and they discuss the case. 

 From the very start, the courtroom is a battleground for conflicting interpretations. While some jurors believe the defendant is a victim of domestic abuse, citing disturbing CCTV footage him throwing her to the ground on the night of the killing, but others point her lies to police, the 999 operator, his brothers and passersby who might have been able to save his life.

 As the prosecution challenges the mother’s account, the case grows more complex. Tensions escalate in the jury room, where disagreements over the facts spiral into personal clashes. Accusations fly, tears are shed, and the once-cohesive group fractures into opposing factions, each convinced of their own interpretation of justice.

 The jurors retire to deliberate — but they are polarised and tempers fray. As the foreperson struggles to maintain order, the question looms: can these 12 individuals find consensus, or will their bitter disagreement prevent a verdict altogether? And if they do, will it be fair and will it be the same as the original case? This experiment in justice, tests the core of our justice system.