RCMP member Tim Shields, Not Guilty

[voice of reason]

Not guilty, but not 'innocent' ... A judge or jury has power to either declare an accused guilty or not guilty. An acquittal simply means the accused has been found not guilty. There is no such thing as a plea of innocent in Canada, even if an accused grandstands and pleads that he is "absolutely innocent."


In Canada, section 11(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states: "Any person charged with an offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal".

[Leifer]

Not guilty, but not 'innocent'

It makes you wonder....after someone has decided to level accusations towards you. Are you just screwed for life? Is your career, family, and reputation just forfeit?

And even when you finally get to plead your case in a court of law (after living the nightmare of being convicted in the media for months)....and successfully defend yourself.
You are still screwed. The fact that you were found not guilty does not seem to matter to people.

You are done.
Might as well put a bullet in your head and call it a day.

What a wonderful society we live in.

[gman313]

It makes you wonder....after someone has decided to level accusations towards you. Are you just screwed for life? Is your career, family, and reputation just forfeit?

And even when you finally get to plead your case in a court of law (after living the nightmare of being convicted in the media for months)....and successfully defend yourself.
You are still screwed. The fact that you were found not guilty does not seem to matter to people.

You are done.
Might as well put a bullet in your head and call it a day.

What a wonderful society we live in.

pretty well I think. You are done. it is a major flaw of our system. I have no idea how to fix it though

[jasond_71]

The only way you can fix it is to prosecute a false accuser. If you ruin someones life by false accusing them you should go to jail.
Look at John Furlong, one of his accusers received a settlement for alleged sexual abuse at a Residential school that was supposed to be occurring at the same time he was being abused by Furlong. This was the main reason the suit was thrown out.
The person should be in jail for the false accusations obviously levied to gain money.

The only problem is then it might prevent people from coming forward like we have seen all over the media recently. We need people to come forward to get rid of the actual abusers but at the same time prevent false accusations. It is a tough one.

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

As far as I know he has the right to sue her for damages or at least defamation..

[gman313]

As far as I know he has the right to sue her for damages or at least defamation..

if the complaint was made in bad faith. It is possible the complainant felt she had a position but was unable to prove in court vs making a knowingly false accusation for personal gain.