The concept of someone being either guilty or innocent is totally flawed. I visit a friend in Lindhome Prison - serving 12 months for a crime he didn't commit. The court says he's guilty - they were wrong. His friends and family know he is innocent. Should he be regarded as innocent or guilty? You commit a crime - get caught - have a good solicitor in court and he gets you off. Are you guilty of committing that crime or not? Fred West died before his case came to court, - did he die an innocent man? The jury in the John Terry case will have to be convinced that he broke the law. If they are not convinced then he will be found not guilty. He will not be found to be innocent. Not guilty is not the same as being innocent.
Re: Me too You say he's not guilty and that his friends and family said he was not guilty. The evidence showed he was. If the DPC proved the case against him then his defence barrister failed to produce evidence to the contrary, if he was innocent. The question is Why?
"Not Guilty is not the same as being innocent" Amen to that, just ask Steven Gerrard's assault victim.
Re: Me too briefly, he was named as being involved in the crime by another defendant who was out to save his own skin. Unfortunately my friend hadn't a strong enough alibi. The point I am making is that even if the courts find someone guilty they may not always get it right. Similarly being found not guilty means that the prosecutors were unable to prove someone was guilty. It does not mean they have proved someone to be innocent.
Re: Me too Just a few points here. The point of a trial is to establish whether the Prosecution can prove a case beyond reasonable doubt. As you rightly hint, a finding of not guilty simply means the Prosecution have not been able to prove guilt to that standard. The Defence don't have to prove innocence - although they may need to call evidence to rebut the Prosecution case, or at least to cast doubt upon it. "The jury in the John Terry case...." There won't be one. The case is being tried in the Magistrates' Court before a District Judge. "His friends and family know he is innocent...." Do you mean KNOW or BELIEVE? There is a difference. It's quite a thing to be convicted by a jury in the Crown Court - where the chances of acquittal are statistically greater - and receive a 12 month sentence without having committed the crime. Can happen, but rare.
Re: Me too I know he is innocent. But he has admitted his guilt in prison otherwise he doesn't get on the necessary courses which he has to complete before applying for early release.
The Scottish courts.... ...have the "not proven" verdict, presumably for this reason. However, the flip side is that if you are innocent but you can't conclusively prove so, you have to live the rest of your life under the shadow of people suspecting that you are actually guilty.