George Thompson Essay

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George Thompson has been acquitted of all charges when the judge handed down the sentence on June 6,2016. These charges that Thompson is accused of include breaking and entering with the intent of theft and possession of stolen property. He has been proven not guilty and does not have to serve any prison time. During the trial, there were numerous errors. The judge mistook sustained and overruled and a defence attorney had to object again for the judge to sustain the objection. As the prosecution asked about the character of the accused, which is not admissible in the court of law. Also, after the closing arguments, both the defence and the Crown should not talk amongst each other. This was ignored, as everyone argued with each other, both …show more content…

The defence attorneys said, “ The judge made was correct in acquitting my client. There was simply not enough evidence that he did the crime and had intentions of doing it.” The Crown attorneys said, “We proved that there was enough evidence for the accused to be sentenced. The judge made a bad call and we are appealing to the Supreme Court to have a retrial.” The judge also gave a statement about the verdict, he said, “ The defence put enough doubt in the Crown's case to warrant a full acquittal. The evidence they submitted was circumstantial and didn’t prove that the accused actually committed any of the crimes he is accused of. Both the actus reus and mens rea were not proven.” We also asked the victim of the crime, Jane Allison about what she thought and she said, “If the judge did not think he did it, then we won’t try to press anymore charges against him. Until new evidence is found.” The verdict may very well impact other cases in the future. As Thompson was found not guilty of all charges, including possession of stolen property. This may set a precedent that negligence might not be a viable mens rea. As Thompson failed to check more in depth on why his co-worker would sell such high quality items to

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