The verdict in the Trayvon Martin case brings to mind the Casey Anthony trial from two years ago. In response of the public’s displeasure, Alan Dershowitz wrote a stirring and even-handed article in the Wall Street Journal, where he examined the nature of “not guilty:”
A criminal trial is never about seeking justice for the victim. If it were, there could be only one verdict: guilty. That’s because only one person is on trial in a criminal case, and if that one person is acquitted, then by definition there can be no justice for the victim in that trial…
Even if it is “likely” or “probable” that a defendant committed the murder, he must be acquitted, because neither likely nor probable satisfies the daunting standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Accordingly, a legally proper result—acquittal in such a case—may not be the same as a morally just result. In such a case, justice has not been done to the victim, but the law has prevailed.
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