Guilty or Not guilty?

Eckhart Aurelius Hughes · Post by **Scott** » 09 Oct 2015, 08:42

I think Jacob was guilty. I'm not sure whether or not he would have been convicted. In theory, even if the jury is 99% sure the defendant is guilty, they are supposed to find him not guilty. The keyword there is in theory.

Post by **bookowlie** » 09 Oct 2015, 17:25

Good point. A jury is made up of 12 people, each bringing their own perspective to the table. Whether or not a jury member says they can be objective, who really knows what their biases are. A prosecutor can submit obvious and overwhelming evidence pointing to a person's guilt, and a jury can still vote Not Guilty.

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 09 Oct 2015, 17:26

Why wouldn't he be convicted? I don't know very much about the court system or things really work in courts.

Post by **bookowlie** » 09 Oct 2015, 17:43

I'm not saying he couldn't be convicted. I am just saying that anything can happen when a person's fate is in the hands of 12 peoples...not judges, not experts, but 12 people who were called up for jury duty.

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 09 Oct 2015, 17:45

Sorry, I was referencing Scott's comment of not being found guilty if the jury was 99% that he was.

Post by **bookowlie** » 09 Oct 2015, 17:48

hsimone wrote:Sorry, I was referencing Scott's comment of not being found guilty if the jury was 99% that he was.

I was a little confused by that. I guess it's the point that a person can only be found guilty if there is no reasonable doubt?

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 09 Oct 2015, 17:53

Sorry about that! I should've been more clear.

So, even if it's just a 1% doubt, then they can't find him guilty?

TrishaAnn92 · Post by **TrishaAnn92** » 10 Oct 2015, 20:33

I would have to say guilty especially after the girl was found dead. I had hopes that he would be not guilty but everything just seemed to be against him.

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 11 Oct 2015, 06:35

I agree! I was hoping that he wouldn't be guilty, too! But, like you said, TrishaAnn92, after Hope was found dead, then I had no doubt in my mind he was guilty.

quadbrookie · Post by **quadbrookie** » 12 Oct 2015, 18:58

I thought the same but, when Hope showed up dead my stomach dropped.

gali · Post by **gali** » 13 Oct 2015, 01:21

hsimone wrote:I agree! I was hoping that he wouldn't be guilty, too! But, like you said, TrishaAnn92, after Hope was found dead, then I had no doubt in my mind he was guilty.

I thought the same.

Jausten11 · Post by **Jausten11** » 29 Oct 2015, 08:01

Guilty, no doubt about it.

TangledinText · Post by **TangledinText** » 11 Nov 2015, 09:59

Guilty although I have anxiety when it comes my opinion and interpretation having the control over someones life. I'm not a good juror.

SharisseEM · Post by **SharisseEM** » 04 Jan 2016, 04:21

I think Jacob would have been found guilty due to the evidence against him. However, I keep thinking that Jacob is innocent regarding Ben's death (I'm using "innocent" lightly here) but yes, he's guilty of Hope's death. He's a psychopath, yes, but I think he was only fantasising about murder before and the trial just dragged his darkest thoughts out into the open making him even more psychotic. I believe his thinking was changed over the course of the trial and he was already leaning into the darker side of things. If people already think you did it, why not prove them right? Hope just presented herself as the perfect person to turn his fantasies into a reality. It was the perfect situation for him and he just acted.

SharisseEM · Post by **SharisseEM** » 04 Jan 2016, 04:45

Paul2love wrote:he shouldnt have done that..we should always prove people wrong as there is no use or purpose proving them right as they already believe..

I'm not saying that we shouldn't prove people wrong when they think wrongly of us. In regards to the book though, I just think that that was the kind of epiphany Jacob would have had due to the trial that would support my answer to the topic of whether he was guilty or not guilty.