The cost of proving innocence when accused of sexual offenses.
The linked article addresses a man who was sentenced and served 5 years in prison before DNA evidence was uncovered eventually proving his innocence at a cost of £500,000 to him and family.
Depp was similarly able to sue and prove the defamation against him because he had the financial means to.
The Duke lacrosse players probably wouldn’t have been able to prove their innocence if not for the fact they came from fairly wealthy families.
While it may often be men who have to pay huge sums to prove their innocence, it can happen to accused women as well, the linked article providing a case example of that.
While organizations such as the innocence project have have helped vindicate a large number of wrongly convicted, I can’t help but wonder how many innocent people haven’t been able to prove their innocence simply because they couldn’t afford to uncover and present the evidence that would exonerate them. This of course isn’t unique to alleged sexual offenses , but seems to be especially problematic with such allegations.
Some refer to this cost of proving innocence as the innocence tax. What are your thoughts about this?
Posted Oct 9, 2023, 1:20 AM UTC