Where a prosecutor invites the jury to treat post-offence conduct (such as letters from custody) as demonstrating consciousness of guilt, the trial judge must give an Edwards-type direction warning the jury that an innocent person may also fear conviction and seek to avoid trial, even if the prosecutor earlier disclaimed reliance on consciousness of guilt and defence counsel did not request such a direction. The obligation is heightened where the consciousness of guilt evidence is the strongest part of the prosecution case and the remaining evidence is of questionable quality.
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