This affliction of injustice was only marginally less oppressive for those who were actually guilty of a statutory offense than for those of us, 10% to 15% of the prison population I reckoned, who were not.
The truth is not palatable. Only three to four percent of adults who plead not guilty in a criminal trial in Canada are acquitted -- more than a few innocent people are sent to jail:
Many an innocent man has been wrongly convicted. Many innocent men and women sit wrongly incarcerated as we speak. It matters not how much money one has in an imperfect and sometimes callous system.
Anon -- I do think most accused are guilty -- and most people found guilty are factually guilty. I do think the police and Crowns do a pretty good job. But I think most is not all and there are many innocent people in prison...
While that may be true, Conrad is not one of those who is truly innocent. With all his resources to defend himself, he was still convicted.
ReplyDeleteMany an innocent man has been wrongly convicted. Many innocent men and women sit wrongly incarcerated as we speak. It matters not how much money one has in an imperfect and sometimes callous system.
ReplyDeleteYou could spin it another way, that the crown and RCMP do such a fantastic job, that only the truly guilty end up charged and go to court.
ReplyDeleteOr that the crown has a pretty good idea about how tight their cases are, and readily make deals and avoid trial, if there's a risk of acquittal.
Anon -- I do think most accused are guilty -- and most people found guilty are factually guilty. I do think the police and Crowns do a pretty good job. But I think most is not all and there are many innocent people in prison...
ReplyDelete