Tuesday, July 5, 2011

"Not guilty" does not mean innocent. It means "not proven beyond reasonable doubt".

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

The problem is that reasonable doubt can be interpreted broadly.

Not guilty is as good as innocent in the Florida case that was finished this afternoon.

They are different by definition only. Casey Anthony might as well have been found "innocent". She is free and cannot be retried.

James C Morton said...

You are precisely right. And that is confusing. Maybe the Scots verdict of "not proven" would be better.

badbeta said...

I believe Australia also has that "not proven" as well. I think she was overcharged as well...almost unheard of even in the U.S. to try to get the death penalty for a mom that kills her child.

Anonymous said...

Excuse me, but one is presumed innocent until proven guilty. So in our legal system, or that of the US, not guilty does INDEED mean innocent.

E.J. Guiste said...

So what does being found "gulity" mean ? This is a serious question in light of Marshall, Millgard, Hurricane and so many others !

EJG