Robert Blake Found Not Guilty! (page 4)

heathen

Don't forget---the jury MUST feel that there is NO doubt about the person's guilt, not even a shred that he may be innocent of the charges, in order to return a verdict of guilty.

That is only in murder trials . MJ is not accused of murder . a preponderance of evidence would be enough to convict MJ . I feel the same about blake as I did about OJ . he may have had accomplices . I think he did it . So far I don't think MJ did anything that should cost him the small fortune that he settled for last time . It doesn't sound like he raped anybody but is a very strange man .

Pwned

good links. yup she deserved it.

Sunspot

MJ is not accused of murder . a preponderance of evidence would be enough to convict MJ .

Heathen,

My comment was addressing the point made about those who are famous or have loaded bank accounts getting "more justice" than the average Joe.

There seem to be far more people who hate MJ than who support him. The fact that there are no blacks on the jury has caused a commotion too. So many things can play into the human emotions that are coming up in this trial, and none of us truly knows just what the jury members have experienced within their own families that could color their perception of things they hear.

Personally, I feel that the evidence and the truthfulness of the accusers will sway this jury one way or the other. When people's "stories" continue to change on the witness stand, there IS that "preponderance of the evidence" that will show who is there for the justice or for the money they have tried to extort from someone rich.

Annie

Mulan

Yep.. he was laughing up a storm when the verdict came out.

He was crying!! It was very different emotion showed than with both OJ and with Scott Peterson. OJ smiled, and Scott was just blank and unemotional.

I never thought Blake was guilty................maybe badly framed. I watched the jury when they were interviewed and they said there was just not enought evidence to say he was guilty, and what they had was poor circumstantial evidence. The witnesses were not credible, and couldn't keep their stories straight.

The 11 to 1 issue was 11 for aquittal, and 1 for guilty, so it stands as a full acquittal.

His life is ruined, so I think people should stop beating him up. What if he is innocent...............totally innocent? How can he recover a life?

Big Tex

Criminal court in the United States requires a defendant must be found guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt". That does not mean there can be no doubt. That does not mean the prosecution must prove them 100% guilty. It means what it says, reasonable doubt.

In all criminal cases, the defendant is presumed to be innocent. That means he or she may not be convicted unless proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/reference/guide-criminal.htm

Prosecutors will usually prefer a case based on circumstantial evidence rather than eye witnesses. They say that circumstantial evidence is usually better and easier to get a conviction.

Civil court requires a case to be decided based on the "preponderence" of the evidence. That simply means the majority (51%).

Chris

Sunspot

He was crying!! It was very different emotion showed than with both OJ and with Scott Peterson. OJ smiled, and Scott was just blank and unemotional.

Mulan,

I saw a short clip on the news this morning, and the very first thing Blake did when the verdict was announced---WAS a look of joy and disbelief! Only for a moment. Once it had sunk in, a second or two later, his face twisted up and he began to cry and put his head down. His shoulders were shaking and I'm sure he wasn't laughing.

For a moment he took out some pills or Rolaids or something and tried to put one in his mouth, and his hands were shaking so badly that it was obvious that he was overcome with emotion.

We didn't believe for a second that he was guilty either.

Annie

Mulan

We didn't believe for a second that he was guilty either.

Glad to hear that, Annie.

Doubtfully Yours

Fame and fortune buys you freedom in this great Country!

Furthermore, if OJ got away with murder, why not let this poor old guy do the same?!

I'm not saying I approve of the act, but I completely understand why he did it. That lady was pure scumb.

DY

heathen

It sounds like the defense did a good job of character assassination of the wife . Any way, they chose to discount the body guard testimony because they were "drug users". Now that would have done some damage to Blake because they were saying publicly that he tried to hire them to kill his wife . So now, from what I've heard on the news ,they were going to investigate on whether he was soliciting murder on one of the 2 accusations. If he hated his wife that much then why not a devorce? She may have been blackmailing him somehow . Who knows ?

adelmaal

Sunspot:

I think we pretty much agree on the subject. I don't know whether or not he's innocent; I didn't follow the case. I wasn't on the jury. I just stated that no matter how much drama Bakley caused for him financially it would not justify him murdering her if he did. That is all. Just my opinion.

Don't forget---the jury MUST feel that there is NO doubt about the person's guilt, not even a shred that he may be innocent of the charges, in order to return a verdict of guilty.

You left out a key word above though... It should read no "reasonable" doubt. Any good attorney can punch holes in a case and can cast some doubt. It happens quite often in high profile cases where the defendant can afford a high priced attorney while the DA operates on a limited budget. OJ, Blake, Jackson, Bryant all got off not because we know for a fact they were innocent but because they had great attorneys. Even the jurors on the news today admitted they could not say for a certainty that Blake was innocent. They could only say he was not proven guilty. There's a difference between being innocent and being not guilty.

In my opinion, the key thing juries need to keep in mind is what constitutes reasonable doubt. Does common sense based on the facts of the case convince you that the person did it. If not, then you have reasonable doubt.

Robert Blake Found Not Guilty!

Share this