The noted English jurist Sir William Blackstone said "Better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer." This is the view that if the criminal justice system produces a wrong verdict, that the system is weighted toward making the error on the side of letting a guilty defendant go free rather than convicting an innocent person. The numerous protections found in the Bill of Rights for those charged with criminal offenses seem to demonstrate this slant in the criminal justice system.
a) Do you agree with this philosophy? Why or why not?
b) Give 2 reasons that support your answer.