Re: Girl jailed after lying about being abused by her brother

On Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:04:28 +0100, Nick <Nick.Spam@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

Mike_B wrote:
In message <fsqv1f$5co$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Dave Baker <Null@xxxxxxxx>
writes

"Nick" <Nick.Spam@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:65cc6rF2fbhjjU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dave Baker wrote:

As I've said on numerous occasions if the crime is trivial you can't
get
the police to even investigate without independent evidence or at least
one other person supporting your story. If the crime is serious you can
be arrested and convicted on basically zero evidence or the word of one
person. It runs completely counter to both common sense and natural
justice and although no doubt many people who are accused based on just
one person's word are guilty there's no way any sensible system should
convict them. It's just tough that many guilty people therefore go free
but far better than that innocent ones should ever be convicted.


These things aren't absolute. A workable justice system requires that a
number of innocent people are convicted in order that it can convict
enough guilty people to act as a deterrent.

I don't think a workable justice system requires any such thing and any
system that "requires" innocent people to be convicted is not even a
justice
system by definition.


Well said.

A justice system that requires innocent people to be convicted... never
heard such rubbish in my life.



No they don't say it but it is obviously true. We don't know enough to
make perfect decisions about guilt or innocence hence we have to guess.

If we don't know or there is reasonable doubt, an acquittal is in
order.

If we are too conservative in our guesses in order to protect the
innocent too many guilty will go free.

Who cares how many guilty go free? What you need to care about is the
one, single innocent person who is wrongly convicted. I don't care if
a million guilty go free.

MM
.

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