The Presumption of Innocence and Reasonable Doubt

I couldn't agree with Matt Walsh more in this video clip. I think the most important principle shared by the United Kingdom and the United States is that our criminal justice systems emphasise the presumption of innocence. Anyone who stands accused in a criminal court is presumed to be innocent until he/she is proven to be guilty. The prosecution must prove their case. The defence must prove nothing. All the defence need to do is show that the prosecution have not succeeded in proving their case beyond reasonable doubt. It is a principle that stands above everything else, more important even than democracy in my view. Not only does it provide a protection against wrongful conviction, it also prevents the state from becoming too powerful. It means that there must always be just cause for arrest and incarceration. You cannot be locked up just because the government doesn't like you. We undermine it at our peril.

It is therefore my prayer that the members of the jury in the Derek Chauvin trial judge the case purely upon the evidence and that they not be influenced by public opinion and outrage. If they examine all of the evidence in the case and believe it proves that Chauvin is guilty of the murder of George Floyd they should convict him. If the prosecution fail to prove their case he must be acquitted regardless of what anyone says (or does).

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