It’s the million dollar question and I am being very careful and considered.
In this one particular case I would have to say I am not sure because I haven’t sat in court every day and I haven’t considered every bit of evidence presented and cross examined. What I have remarked about this case, and what applies to every other criminal case in England & Wales is that for the defendant to be found guilty, it has to be proven ‘beyond reasonable doubt’. It is not for the defence to prove anything, it is for the Crown to prove guilt.
I struggle with this particular case because of the factors I have previously outlined, the incidents are 17 or more years ago, there is no physical evidence, no DNA, no CCTV, no direct witnesses and ultimately it has been a victims word against a defendant. I have approached it purely from a criminal prosecution point of view, as should be the case and that is with no outside influence & no reference to any previous circumstances. The bar for the burden of proof in a criminal case is very high and I’m not sure it has been reached in this particular case.
Is that the same as me saying the convictions may be unsafe? I genuinely feel there is a difference between what I have said and that inference but trying to explain it is not straightforward.
Putting the Brand verdicts to one side. I feel in the bigger picture that it’s a concern we can have guilty verdicts in any cases that are 17 years old (or more), have no direct evidence and where it’s a case of one persons word against another’s?
What is to stop someone saying the same about me, you or anyone else on here.