An innocent man in jail or a guilty man free?

[Mackmax]

Many people say that they'd rather have 100 guilty men walk free than see 1 innocent man in jail. I disagree, and depending on the crime, I'd rather have an innocent man in jail than a guilty man walk free. There's no way I'd want a serial killer to walk free among us. So what is your opinion on this, and why?

 

[shilpa123]

I do believe it is never ok to let an guilty man free and it is also not ok to let an innocent man in jail. Both the sides should be taken care of while it is the matter of crime.

 

[LitoLawless]

I really don't think either or is a good thing. I would rather have a guilty man in jail, there's no doubt about that. A guilty man free means that he thinks that he can get away with it again and again. No one needs a situation like that.

 

[mrsbright]

An innocent man in jail is the proof that the state has not the necessary foresight and capacity to rule fairly; it's an abuse of power in a way, and it takes away time of people's life, sometimes ruining many of their relationships and opportunities, and there's nothing that can fix that. An innocent person's life is ruined for nothing. Of course, a criminal on the street is dangerous, but the fact is, we have plenty of them already, and we'll never have them all. But it's many time a matter of time before they are caught. In the first case, the State committed an irreparable crime. In the second, it missed the opportunity to protect better, but it could be just a matter of time. Both are bad.

 

[Patrick]

It's always easy to say that an innocent man can stay in prison when you are a free man. Wrongful incaeceration does happen and it is one of the most horrible things in our justice system. I think neither of these are acceptable, why should we be forced to choose?

 

[Muthoni]

It is very sad if an innocent man is put behind bars. They can lose hope in life after living well and get punished for something that they have not done. On the other hand a guilty man who is free will get caught when his forty days are up. Furthermore an innocent man can became guilty due to circumstances he finds himself in prison.

 

[bala]

These 2 are quite like an oxymoron and either of them wrongly done could lead to serious problems.
If to be zeroed in on an opinion i would never want an innocent man in jail.Its all against the rules.Until he is proven guilty he cannot be tried/tested.

 

[Rainman]

From an ethical POV locking up an innocent man is unfair and when evidence points that he is innocent then he should be set free. That's what justice is all about. However if there's a possibility that he could be guilty then until his innocence is proven beyond reasonable doubt, he should be locked up. That would at least keep a potentially guilty man out of circulation and deter others from committing a similar crime [possibly].

 

[Josie]

If they were cereal killers, I'd obviously want the innocent man in prison. Not that I'd like it. Too many people in prison don't belong there in my opinion. Depends on the crime though. If they didn't hurt anyone physically, I would rather the 100 "criminals" free.

 

[Rosyrain]

Well since there is the chance that any one of us could be the innocent person that gets jailed, I would say that I would rather be free and not the bad guys no matter what the cost. It is not fair to lose my freedom if I did not do anything to warrant that fate.

 

[JoanMcWench]

You'd probably rather have one innocent man in jail rather than a hundred guilty men free if that innocent man is not yourself or someone important to you. It makes it easier to make that decision if you're not the person personally affected.

 

[Gabe]

The fact is there are many guilty people walking the streets free already because the prosecution failed to mount a credible case. So, of course it would be better not to have the innocent person in prison. Think of the person who ordered the hit on Nemstov, they will walk free and countless cold cases where the guilty have never been caught.

 

[dyanmarie25]

It's tough to choose. I would say, I'd rather let an innocent man be put in jail than see a guilty man walking around the street, looking for his/her next victim. But I know that's utterly unfair for that man who didn't do anything wrong. Well, I really couldn't decide.

 

[kana_marie]

Easy-- a guilty man free. No one should pay for a crime they didnt commit... especially when there's so much at stake. It typically always just a few days or a week. A lot of times they are getting out until everything in their life is gone, or they don't get out at all.