Do you know who pioneered the concept of innocent until proven guilty?

[cali]

I didn't until recently, but if you want to be entertained and informed I highly recommend a BBC show called Garrow's Law.

Anyone else seen it?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

1. I don't know the answer, so I'm going to make guesses.

First: Ancient Rome.
Second: The Caliphate during the Islamic Golden Age (~800-1200).
Third: The Magna Carta in England.

So, did I get it?

[cali]

3. It was William Garrow

"Presumption of innocence" serves to emphasize that the prosecution has the obligation to prove each element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt (or some other level of proof depending on the criminal justice system) and that the accused bears no burden of proof.<14> This is often expressed in the phrase innocent until proven guilty coined by the English lawyer Sir William Garrow (1760–1840).<15> Garrow insisted that accusers be robustly tested in court. An objective observer in the position of the juror must reasonably conclude that the defendant almost certainly committed the crime.<16>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innocent_until_proven_guilty

ir William Garrow KC SL PC FRS (13 April 1760 – 24 September 1840) was a British barrister, politician and judge known for his indirect reform of the advocacy system, which helped usher in the adversarial court system used in most common law nations today. He introduced the phrase "innocent until proven guilty", insisting that defendants' accusers and their evidence be thoroughly tested in court.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_William_Garrow

and this is the wonderful BBC courtroom drama series based on Garrow and actual cases:

Garrow's Law is a British period legal drama about the 18th century lawyer William Garrow. The series debuted on 1 November 2009 on BBC One and BBC HD. A second series was announced on 7 July 2010<1> and aired from 14 November 2010.<2> A third series consisting of four episodes was commissioned in 2011.<3>

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. The interesting thing is his dates mean the US adopted it from England after independence

The series is quite good, dramatically, but I'm not sure how much accurate legal history you can get from it; he's portrayed as more of a dashing young anti-establishment hero than I suspect the real Garrow was (since he became Attorney General, and then a judge).

[Kennah]

2. I haven't seen the show, but thanks for the tip.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Garrow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innocent_until_proven_guilty

[cali]

4. It's just fantastic.

[Vinnie From Indy]

5. Some innocent bastard accused of a crime 10,000 years ago?

n/t

[JuniperLea]

6. Thanks for the tip!

We're getting a lot of BBC shows in Los Angeles these days. One of our PBS stations tossed their PBS affiliation and are back to being private. So far, so good.

[eppur_se_muova]

8. Wow, someone unrecced this? WTF? nt