Innocent Until
Proven Guilty: A Fairytale of American Criminal Justice
We have all
heard that those accused of a crime in this country are innocent until proven
guilty. While this is appealing rhetoric
it is neither conceptually accurate nor practically applied.
Conceptually, it must be stressed
that there is a legal difference between innocence and being found not guilty as
determined by a jury of our peers. Innocence is an empirical fact considering
whether certain events did or did not occur. Did Defendant intentionally kill
another person? Did Defendant take another’s property with force or threat of
force with the intent to permanently deprive that person of the property? These questions deal with events in the
universe that either did or did not occur.
Contrast guilt. Guilty and not guilty is a verdict rendered
by juries in the United States. Juries
do not find defendants innocent. Instead, they make a determination as to
whether or not the prosecutor has proven each and every element of each offense
beyond a reasonable doubt. This turns on a myriad of factors, some of which
have very little to do with whether the Defendant actually did it. These include the amount of evidence
available, the amount of evidence put forward, the fairness of the judge, the
credibility of the witnesses, the talents of the prosecutor in trying his or
her case, the talents of the defending counsel to raise reasonable doubt, the
appearance of the defendant, and any prejudices of the jury.
While the State has the burden to
prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, in practice, defendants are rarely
afforded a presumption of innocence. For
example, once a defendant is arrested, they are processed, incarcerated and
brought before a judge who will set a bail.
If the accusation is serious enough, the defendant’s bail may be set so
high that the defendant can never afford to post it. Even though the defendant is said to be
presumed innocent he will be confined in a county jail until his trial. In many instances that could take years. Finally, once the defendant does have his day
in court, even if he prevails, he will not be said to be innocent but only not
guilty. To the truly innocent defendant
this is not sufficient because the public believes that plenty of people who in
fact did the crime are found not guilty.
The innocent defendant found not guilty, never gets compensated for the
wrongful arrest or the time spent in jail.
He or she never truly clears their name nor redeems their
reputation. This is because we have
developed a system not interested in guilt and innocence, but instead a system
determined to find guilt and not guilt.
For the truly innocent defendant this distinction makes a world of
difference.
November 5, 2014 update: Yesterday the citizens of New Jersey overwhelmingly passed a bail initiative to amend the New Jersey Constitution to allow defendants accused of serious violent crimes to be held WITHOUT bail until trial. These are people who have been accused not convicted. This amendment is even stronger evidence of the fairytale that criminal defendants are innocent until proven guilty.
November 5, 2014 update: Yesterday the citizens of New Jersey overwhelmingly passed a bail initiative to amend the New Jersey Constitution to allow defendants accused of serious violent crimes to be held WITHOUT bail until trial. These are people who have been accused not convicted. This amendment is even stronger evidence of the fairytale that criminal defendants are innocent until proven guilty.
