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Sentenced to prison before trial?

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T

Torellian

Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? General

I noticed something about a trial that took place recently that really bothers me. I know people here probably have no real interest in the Casey Anthony trial, so I won't be going into that, but there's one part of the whole process that stood out for me.

At the end of it all, the judge gave her credit for "time served", which was the 3 years she was in prison during her trial.

Wait a minute here! A person is innocent unless proven guilty, right? So why was she in prison for the 3 years while the whole legal process took place? That screams, "Presumed guilty and sentenced to at least 3 years in prison until proven guilty or otherwise"!

I know that she ended up being given time for lying to the police, which the time she spent in prison covered. But what if she hadn't lied to the police, or the jury found her not guilty of those charges too? She still would have spent 3 years in prison for something she hadn't even been tried for yet!

Now imagine if you ever are accused of something serious. Can you imagine spending time in prison during the entire legal process BEFORE you're even tried? And what if you're found totally innocent? You still served all that time in prison!

Isn't there something in the law that can counter this? Nobody should have to serve time in prison for years before they get a trial and conviction/acquittal. Like I said, it assuming they're guilty and then handing down a punishment before the trial even takes place!
 


T

Torellian

Member
Zigner said:
Casey Anthony was not in Prison.
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Jail, prison, whatever. She still served time in custody. Here's a link that proves it. Read the 3rd paragraph down for the exact quote, "she has already served nearly three years".

My question doesn't revolve around whether she is actually guilty or not, but rather about the idea that someone can be held against their will, either in jail or prison, for 3 years before they have ever been convicted of anything, let alone tried for anything. It doesn't exactly fit with "considered innocent unless proven guilty."
 
Zigner

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Torellian said:
Jail, prison, whatever. She still served time in custody. Here's a link that proves it. Read the 3rd paragraph down for the exact quote, "she has already served nearly three years".

My question doesn't revolve around whether she is actually guilty or not, but rather about the idea that someone can be held against their will, either in jail or prison, for 3 years before they have ever been convicted of anything, let alone tried for anything. It doesn't exactly fit with "considered innocent unless proven guilty."
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Did you have a legal question? Or did you just want to rant?
 
T

Torellian

Member
Zigner said:
Did you have a legal question? Or did you just want to rant?
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I did ask a question. As quoted from my OP, "A person is innocent unless proven guilty, right? So why was she in prison for the 3 years while the whole legal process took place?
 
C

CSO286

Senior Member
Torellian said:
I did ask a question. As quoted from my OP, "A person is innocent unless proven guilty, right? So why was she in prison for the 3 years while the whole legal process took place?
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She wasn't in prison. Due to the serious nature of the alleged crime, she was denied bail and remanded to custody for the duration of her trial.
 
Zigner

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
The law allows for those accused of crimes to be held in jail in order to assure that they do not flee from prosecution. Another option is for the person to agree to, and comply with, bail conditions. Bail is based, in part, on the likelihood of the accused actually sticking around for criminal proceedings.
 
B

BOR

Senior Member
Torellian said:
My question doesn't revolve around whether she is actually guilty or not, but rather about the idea that someone can be held against their will, either in jail or prison, for 3 years before they have ever been convicted of anything, let alone tried for anything. It doesn't exactly fit with "considered innocent unless proven guilty."
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Murder is only 1 of two crimes I know of off hand that are capital in nature, thereore the bail is high, even for a non capital case.

Though the 8th AM's excessive bail provision is not applicable to the states, all states have thier own bail provisions. If bail can not be made, the person is remanded to custody. Yes, this may seem unfair, but it does not violate Due Process or the 4th AM.
 
S

Silverplum

Senior Member
Zigner said:
The law allows for those accused of crimes to be held in jail in order to assure that they do not flee from prosecution. Another option is for the person to agree to, and comply with, bail conditions. Bail is based, in part, on the likelihood of the accused actually sticking around for criminal proceedings.
Click to expand...
BOR said:
Murder is only 1 of two crimes I know of off hand that are capital in nature, thereore the bail is high, even for a non capital case.

Though the 8th AM's excessive bail provision is not applicable to the states, all states have thier own bail provisions. If bail can not be made, the person is remanded to custody. Yes, this may seem unfair, but it does not violate Due Process or the 4th AM.
Click to expand...

I told him to look it up.

But nooooooo.

:rolleyes:
 
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