East Midlands Branch

THE INSTITUTE OF MATHEMATICS

AND ITS APPLICATIONS

Statistics on Trial

a talk by

Helen Joyce

(Editor of Plus Online Magazine, Millennium Mathematics Project)

Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge

on

Wednesday 21 January, 2004

starting 7.30 pm

at

Loughborough University

Edward Herbert Building, Room J001

Abstract

With the advent of DNA profiling, statistics are being quoted in court more and more often. But, after high-profile cases such as that of Sally Clark, jailed for life for the murder of two of her children after highly misleading statistical evidence was presented by a paediatrician, and recently released after her second appeal, can we trust courts to treat statistics properly?

In this talk I will examine the "1 in 73 million" statistic quoted in Sally Clark's trial and explain where it came from, and just what is wrongwith it. The talk should be intelligible to the general public.

No charge is made to attend meetings, non-IMA members are welcome

For further details of this event or other East Midlands Branch activities consult the Web Site http://science.ntu.ac.uk/msor/ccb/ima.html or by contacting the Branch General Secretary:

Dr Stephen Hibberd, School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Nottingham

Tel. (0115) 9513841 email: Stephen.Hibberd@nottingham.ac.uk