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– Trish
Commented Feb 7 at 18:48
3

To clarify, do I understand correctly that when you say "whether someone is guilty or innocent of a crime is a legal and objective fact", you are distinguishing whether the person in question is objectively guilty from whether they are guilty under the law as two separate facts?
– John Bollinger
Commented Feb 7 at 21:13
1

@JohnBollinger, yes, they would be separate facts. I either did what I was accused of or I didn’t. (And if I did it there might be a valid excuse). So I am in layman’s terms guilty or innocent. And when the trial is over, it is declared that I am guilty beyond reasonable doubt, or not. That makes me legally guilty or not. We hope that people who are factually guilty will end up legally guilty, and those factually not guilty end up legally not guilty, but unfortunately that cannot be guaranteed.
– gnasher729
Commented Feb 7 at 22:33
3

Yes, @gnasher729, that is entirely my understanding. I just found this answer's wording a little confusing, and I wanted to make sure it was saying the same thing.
– John Bollinger
Commented Feb 7 at 22:38
1

@JohnBollinger the wording legal fact was deliberately, because you might have killed John Doe in cold planned murder, but the jury found you innocent, then the legal fact is that you are innocent. And you are found guilty of having killed Jane Doe you never met, then it is a legal fact that you are guilty of her murder.
– Trish
Commented Feb 7 at 22:47

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