Tried and convicted by an angry public before their case has even come to court, South Korea's legal system appears to be failing 15 surviving crew members of the Sewol ferry, which sank last month, killing hundreds of children.
Lawyers are unclear how they can mount a convincing defense of the crew, who jumped ship as the children waited in their cabins, dressed in life jackets, obediently following orders before a disaster that put the whole country in mourning.
The absence of determined defense may mean that the crew's side of the story — whether, for instance, they were adequately trained or whether they were given strict orders to abandon ship — may never be heard in court.