Criminal Justice Season 1 May 2026

Ben breaks down. His mother screams in relief. Juliet shows no emotion. Ben is released. He walks out of the courthouse into the rain. No one waits for him but his father, who says nothing and drives him home.

The police pick him up within 48 hours. DI Munday presents a damning picture: Ben’s prints on the murder weapon (a kitchen knife), his DNA mixed with Mel’s blood, a neighbor who heard a man’s angry voice that night, and Mel’s diary entries that suggest she feared a younger lover. criminal justice season 1

Juliet takes a huge risk. She puts Ben on the stand. Under oath, Ben admits he took heroin, had sex with Mel, and then… he stops. He looks at the jury. He looks at his mother crying. And he says: Ben breaks down

“I don’t know if I killed her. I remember being angry. I remember holding the knife. But I don’t remember stabbing her. If I did it, I’m sorry. But I don’t believe I’m a murderer.” Ben is released

More importantly, the heroin in Ben’s system was at a level that would have rendered him unconscious for 6–8 hours. Forensic expert testimony suggests the murder likely occurred while Ben was in a deep nod , making it physically impossible for him to have committed the act.

Rashid tells him: “Then you tell your lawyer, and you plead guilty. Get a lesser sentence.”