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Innocence can imply lesser experience in either a relative view to social peers, or by an absolute comparison to a more common normative scale. In contrast to ignorance, it is generally viewed as a positive term, connoting an optimistic view of the world, in particular one where the lack of wrongdoing stems from a lack of knowledge, whereas wrongdoing comes from a lack of knowledge in children.
The Alford guilty plea is "a plea of guilty containing a protestation of innocence". [8] The defendant pleads guilty, but does not have to specifically admit to the guilt itself. [24] The defendant maintains a claim of innocence, but agrees to the entry of a conviction in the charged crime. [25]
The presumption of innocence is a legal principle that every person accused of any crime is considered innocent until proven guilty. Under the presumption of innocence, the legal burden of proof is thus on the prosecution , which must present compelling evidence to the trier of fact (a judge or a jury ).
Evidence that tends to show a person's innocence is considered exculpatory evidence. For example, if a man is poisoned to death by an overdose of arsenic, and a bottle of arsenic is found in the purse of his wife, that bottle could be considered inculpatory evidence against his wife. The bottle of arsenic in his wife's purse could also be ...
Following Brady, the prosecutor must disclose evidence or information that would prove the innocence of the defendant or would enable the defense to more effectively impeach the credibility of government witnesses. Evidence that would serve to reduce the defendant's sentence must also be disclosed by the prosecution.
The final determination of guilt or innocence is typically made by a third party, who is supposed to be disinterested. This function may be performed by a judge, a panel of judges, or a jury panel composed of unbiased citizens. This process varies depending on the laws of the specific jurisdiction.
Actual innocence is a special standard of review in legal cases to prove that a charged defendant did not commit the crimes that they were accused of, which is often applied by appellate courts to prevent a miscarriage of justice.
Exculpatory evidence is evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal trial that exonerates or tends to exonerate the defendant of guilt. [1] It is the opposite of inculpatory evidence, which tends to present guilt.