‘They caught me and said, You did it; in you go.’ Presumed Guilty, Antonio, 2008
‘Policemen and other authorities in our justice system are rewarded for the number of arrests they make.’ ibid. Layda, lawyer/documentary maker
93% of defendants never see a judge. ibid.
‘First, the prosecutor never proved Tono fired the gun; the prosecutor’s gunpowder test was negative; Second, we found a list: several witnesses said they saw Tono elsewhere that day, but the police chose not to follow up. In Mexico you have to prove your innocence. ibid. two lawyers
78% of inmates are fed by their families. ibid.
‘We have to make up or exaggerate charges.’ ibid. rozzer
93% of inmates were never shown an arrest warrant. ibid.
95% of the verdicts are convictions. ibid.
92% of accusations are based exclusively on witnesses. ibid.
‘Only what the judge said had been recorded.’ ibid. lawyer
Stop presumption of guilt in Mexico! ibid.
We’re all guilty of something. Play for Today: Rumpole of the Bailey aka Rumpole and the Confession of Guilt, ITV 1975
Never forget the eleventh commandment: Thou Shalt Not Plead Guilty. Ken Loach, The Wednesday Plays: 3 Clear Sundays, old woman fence, BBC 1965
You can’t hide the hunger and guilt; it’s a bright guilty world. The Lady from Shanghai 1948 starring Rita Hayworth & Orson Welles & Everett Sloane & Glenn Anders & Ted de Corsia & Erskine Sanford & Gus Schilling & Louis Merrill et al, director Orson Welles, Welles
This is a film about injustice, injustice on a scale most of us wouldn’t imagine possible in this country. It’s a film about the imprisonment of people without trial, of innocent people – first offenders, petty offenders and children. John Pilger, Guilty Until Proven Innocent, ATV 1974
Many thousands who almost unnoticed in the last few years have been caught in a system which has become almost as chaotic and repressive as in countries without even the pretence of our bill of rights. ibid.
Out of 50,00 people whom magistrates remand in custody every year, more than half of 25,000 people are later proved completely innocent or are merely fined or are given conditional discharge. ibid.