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Gayle · 23-06-2006, 11:26

I think that in America the system is 'guilty until proven innocent' whereas in the UK it's 'innocent until proven guilty'.

It would be interesting to have some comparative figures to see how many cases get to trial (I presume they have to build a bigger case for an American trial) and how many get convicted. I wouldn't know where to start in getting those figures.

I was however, reading in the paper the other day that in 1982 the number of rape cases against women that resulted in a conviction were 1 in 4. Last year the number of cases had risen significantly but convictions were only 1 in 20. So lots more cases are being brought to trial and more people are being convicted but a high number of people brought to trial are deemed innocent. Would that be the case if they had to prove their innocence rather than their prosecutor having to prove their guilt?

23-06-2006, 11:26	#4
Gayle God Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Relaxville Posts: 6,866 Blog Entries: 69 Liked: 13 times Rep Power: 2867	Re: Who's rights are most important I think that in America the system is 'guilty until proven innocent' whereas in the UK it's 'innocent until proven guilty'. It would be interesting to have some comparative figures to see how many cases get to trial (I presume they have to build a bigger case for an American trial) and how many get convicted. I wouldn't know where to start in getting those figures. I was however, reading in the paper the other day that in 1982 the number of rape cases against women that resulted in a conviction were 1 in 4. Last year the number of cases had risen significantly but convictions were only 1 in 20. So lots more cases are being brought to trial and more people are being convicted but a high number of people brought to trial are deemed innocent. Would that be the case if they had to prove their innocence rather than their prosecutor having to prove their guilt? __________________ The views expressed within this post are mine and mine alone.