Question for the Innocent until Proven Guilty Lobby?

Question

Innocent until proven guilty is of course right and true.

I am genuinely interested to know if you have never formed an opinion on any other murder case over the years or whether you're sticking to your guns on this one for special reasons?

I am geniunely interested in your answers on this one.

PLEASE NO ABUSE!!!

The question is have you never speculated on another case - not why we shouldn't speculte on THIS case.

HELLY: I didn't give you a thumbs down.

In fact to prove it I'm just going to give you a thumbs up. Obviously someone else thought you hadn't answered it.

Answer 1

Good question. Think OJ Simpson, Louise Woodward, both cases played out in front of the world, and I don't remember meeting anyone that didn't have an opinion on them.

OJ Simpson had a mountain of evidence pointing at him, he also had a lot of money to pay for top lawyers... sound familiar?

I would like to think I'm from the innocent until proven guilty lobby, but sometimes you can't help shaking a feeling about someone can you? Something isn't quite right with their demeanour, and although you can't figure out what it is, you just have a gut feeling that all is not as it should be. Then when you hear of evidence that backs up that feeling you had, well it's impossible not to form some kind of judgement on them, even if you do acknowledge that your opinion is subject to change pending further evidence for or against.

Answer 2

Hiya,

I have personally known nothing like this case before, in the sense of media coverage, public interest etc.

I do form opinions, ones which I usually keep to myself, but since coming on Q&A back in May, I have shared my opinion
and debating it over with others, something I have not done before.

I am not sticking to my guns about the McCanns and refusing to believe they are anything but innocent. If they are guilty, throw the book at them. On these boards people have decided without trial they are guilty of harming their child.

Now, I'm not talking about guilty of neglect, I'm talking about guilty of harming Madeleine. In fact it turned into a spiteful witch hunt, which caused me to jump from the fence onto the side of the Pros.

The minute the McCanns were made suspects, the antis swarmed on here demanding that pros apologise for being so blind, for being idiots and how we should eat humble pie, assuming they would be found guilty. So my stance in the end turned to innocent until proven guilty because at the end of the day, that's what matters.

Answer 3

The same applies to any case where someone is under suspicion.

Remember, the McCanns have not even been charged. This isn't even a Court case. It's just media speculation over leaked information which may or may not be true. That is not enough to convict anyone.

Until the McCanns face a jury and get convicted of a crime, I am unwilling to think anything other than innocent until proven guilty. It's the only way justice can work.

Just imagine, any one of you, if you were accused of a crime you did not commit. Would you find it fair if you were found guilty by media without even going before a judge and having a chance to clear your name?

*edit*, yes, and I answered your question. Thanks for the thumbs down...

Answer 4

We are all individuals, all have our own set of values and 'Innocent until proven guilty' Happens to be on of them because we are lucky enough to live in a democratic society whereby such value applies.

However, and as individuals, our values are influenced by many different factors, from what we believe in, as in what is right from what is wrong and individual perceptions, not forgetting gut feelings or intuition if you want to call it that.

In the O J Simpson case it was all about someone very famous, the car chase we all saw on TV and the fact that for someone so famous to be indicted in the murder of his wife and lover (If he was) Could all have been part of a movie! Many people regarded the whole thing as they would a movie on the suject!

When it comes to the Mc Canns, things are different in the sense that most of us, parents, did not feel happy at the prospect that they could have left their children unsupervised, all alone in a holiday apartment while they went out for a meal or what not. And if those of us who still believe in 'Innocent until proven guilty' Felt that surely they had nothing to do with the kidnapping of their little daughter, we never considered them to be blameless. Indeed we considered them guilty of sheer neglect. Now i know some people will say that i should not speak on their behalf when i say 'We' And i would like to reassure them that 'We' means not only myself but those the vast majority of people i know off line who all agree with me that indeed! Leaving the children on their own was unacceptable. Hence when it comes to 'Innocent until proven guilty' ... They are already guilty of something as in neglect. Thus we do not feel them to be totally innocent.

I also feel that the media adds on to our thoughts and feelings. How can anyone be entitled to switch off when all you need to do is walk into your local shop and see the Mc Canns plastered all over the front page of each and every newspapers about? And how can you switch off when you hear that they have hired a higher profile publicist? This does not help matters where we are concerned.

Finally and still on the subject ... Look back in time ... Think about the Birmingham 6, the Guildford 4 etc. Everyone wanted to see them locked up forever because we were so sure they were guilty. media had seen to it and look at what happened!

So 'Innocent until proven guilty' Still stands for me if! in some cases, such as the Mc Canns and as they're already guilty of neglect ... I don't know that i would swear on oath that they were innocent of anything else on oath, if charged.

Answer 5

I wonder if the McCann friends and supporters were just as willing to believe that Robert Murat was innocent until proven guilty? If suspicious traces of DNA had been found in the boot of his car, they would not be talking about the incompetence of the Portuguese police and questioning the Birmingham forensic science labs.

Answer 6

Of course, its ALWAYS Innocent until proven guilty for all cases.

Murder isn't a crime one can flippantly accuse people of without sufficient, reliable & conclusive proof.

Answer 7

I usually form an opinion myself. I think most people do, no matter the outcome. They just don't all voice it. We are only the public, not judge and jury, so it ultimately doesn't matter what we think or feel. But everyone likes to have a say.

Answer 8

Simpson case comes to mind -- still wondering (the murder trial)