From Reuters:
"I always knew that there would be a day when the cloud that surrounded me would be removed. That day has finally come. It is unfortunate that an election was affected by proceedings now recognized as unfair," he [Stevens] said in a statement.This is a man who was accused of concealing huge -- $250,000 huge -- gifts from lobbyists, a major ethics crime.
Eh. Innocent until proven guilty, huh? But he's still kinda guilty, isn't he? A jury convicted him, right? I'm so confused by criminal law.
2 comments:
Technically, under the law, he's innocent. The prosecution broke the rules for a fair trial. Since he didn't get a fair trial, he is declared innocent. I doubt anyone really believes he's innocent, but such is the law... especially for someone with lots of money to hire expensive lawyers.
He is not declared innocent. The Justice Department has asked that the charges be dismissed. Becuase this is on appeal, the conviction is not final. The dismissal of charges will automatically vacate the conviction. The prosecutorial misconduct which prompted all of this was eggregious, irrespective of the merit of the charges. The Justice Department is declining to refile charges -- however, that is not the equivalent of an aquittal, or being "declared innocent."
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