Presumed Guilty TV - Professor Charles D Weisselberg -
‘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
Appeal: Immediate Release. ibid.
Stop presumption of guilt in Mexico! ibid.
Presumed Guilty is a terrific film — gripping, shocking and quite illuminating. The title of the documentary captures a basic difficulty with the criminal justice system in Mexico. The defendant is presumed to be guilty, and that presumption infects the way crimes are investigated and criminal charges are adjudicated. The filmmakers created a remarkable record of the second trial of José Antonio ‘Toño’ Zúñiga Rodriguez, who was charged with the murder of Juan Reyes. It is impossible to know the extent to which Toño’s case is representative of other investigations and prosecutions. The filmmakers were given extraordinary access to Toño and the courtroom, and trials are not typically recorded. But the problems that surfaced during Toño’s retrial were those that one might expect in a system that does not provide a rigorous test of the evidence gathered by the police. Mexico is poised to change its criminal justice system from one that presumes guilt at trial to one that presumes innocence, effective 2016. If this reform is implemented and the new presumption of innocence is taken seriously, it should lead to important changes in police practices and trial procedures that could prevent miscarriages of justice like the one depicted in the documentary. While one can think of other reforms that would improve the integrity of Mexico’s criminal justice system, this single change has the potential to accomplish much. Professor Charles D Weisselberg online article