Ok, folks of MC, where do you stand?
It has been said that our system of justice would rather let 10 guilty people go free than imprison one innocent person. I've heard people disagree with that.
Where are you on a scale of +10 (10 guilt go free to one innocent jailed) to -10 (10 innocent people jailed for every one guilty person going free).
+10 but my answer might depend on the crime.
If 10 guilty murderers go free to keep one innocent person out of jail how is that doing the greatest good for society?
If 10 guilty shoplifters go free & 1 innocent person stays out of jail that's a lot more palatable
I guess at the end of the day there is no way an innocent person should have to do time for a crime they did not commit.
Agreed. The area is too grey.
shareYou could think of it this way: the worse the crime, the worse the punishment and the worse the consequences for the innocent person who gets convicted.
A lesser crime would mean less consequences for someone wrongly convicted.