Closed petition Ensure the standard of proof direction is enough to overcome false accusations

Closed on 4 February 2017

To convict, a jury must find a defendant guilty ‘beyond reasonable doubt’. Judges should be required to state to jury: “Defendants are innocent unless proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt; therefore if you have ANY doubts, and those doubts are REASONABLE, you must find the defendant not guilty”

Defendants are supposed to be considered innocent unless they can be PROVED guilty. But this is often not, in reality, what happens. If a complainant makes a false allegation, maintains it during cross-examination, and comes across as more believable (despite lying) than the defendant, that defendant is generally convicted because the jury makes their decision based on whom they choose to believe rather than proof beyond reasonable doubt. Innocent defendants should be protected, not convicted.