It is of more importance to the community that innocence should be protected, than it is, that guilt should be punished; for guilt and crimes are so frequent in this world, that all of them cannot be punished….when innocence itself, is brought to the bar and condemned, especially to die, the subject will exclaim, ‘it is immaterial to me whether I behave well or ill, for virtue itself is no security.’ And if such a sentiment as this were to take hold in the mind of the subject that would be the end of all security whatsoever

This maxim is based on Blackstone’s formulation that “It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer”. It was
expressed by the English jurist William Blackstone in his seminal work, Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the 1760s.

This statement is the guiding principle behind rules of procedure and evidence guiding our courts, when any law relating to procedure and evidence requires interpretation, the interpretation  10 given to such provision is usually in favour of the accused upholding the presumption of innocence. The reason for this is to ensure that the police and prosecution do their job right, and to ensure that an overzealous prosecution does not result in an innocent man being  convicted of a crime he did not commit, otherwise people did not have faith and respect for the justice delivery system.

 

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