The glaring deficiencies in Stephen Miller's confession were overlooked and they needed to be, as his admissions were manifestly absurd. He did not stand a chance as the whole criminal justice system failed not only him and his co-accused, but the memory of Lynette White and society too. The criminal justice system requires confessions to function, but when Miller surrendered his long term interests for short term respite from officers he regarded as persecutors, he followed in a long list that disgraces British justice.

Despite being clearly innocent Stephen Miller was even accused of concocting an alibi, when unknown to him vital statements were gathering dust in the unused material. He had forgotten that he had seen people in the nearby Casablanca nightclub minutes after the police and prosecution say the murder was committed. There were no traces of blood on his clothes and he showed no change in general demeanour. He was either the greatest actor still undiscovered by Hollywood, or he was obviously innocent. While Miller remembered none of this, his lawyers and the police, Crown had easy access to it.

The case of the Cardiff Five proves that juries will ignore the law if they believe it just to do so. Miller's confession dominated proceedings in 1990. The judge directed the jury that could only rely on Miller's confession as evidence against him – it could not be used against his co-accused at all. Nevertheless, they ignored both his directions and strong evidence that Yusef Abdullahi was working on a ship almost ten miles away throughout the night of the murder, as they plainly did not believe anything but Miller's false confession. It is the only thing that explains why three were found guilty and two were acquitted.