In practically all criminal cases, it is impossible to establish guilt or innocence with 100% certainty. This fact would not change under a libertarian legal system. If we are committed not to wrongfully convict any innocent person, then we must dismiss virtually every accusation for lack of evidence, and people are free to commit all sorts of crimes without any consequences. If on the other hand we are committed not to wrongfully acquit any guilty person, then we must accept virtually every accusation, and the legal system effectively becomes a tool for unchecked aggression. Therefore, we must resign ourselves to the reality that some guilty people will go free and some innocent people will be convicted—the best we can do is look for proof of guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt."If new evidence is found that exonerates someone previously thought to be guilty, what becomes of the people who were punishing that person? For example, suppose Alice is killed, and her agents prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bob is guilty, even though he maintains that he is innocent. Bob is imprisoned (or worse, executed), but later it's proven that Alice died of natural causes. Should the imprisoners/executioners be held liable for the kidnapping/murder of Bob?On the one hand, perhaps they should be, because they should not punish Bob unless they are willing to stake their own lives and liberty on the same degree of confidence as they have in his guilt. On the other hand, they were only doing what was reasonable given the information that they had at the time, and so they can hardly be said to have done anything wrong, much like someone who shoots in self-defense at someone who appears to be reaching for a gun but is really unarmed.Any thoughts on this issue?
The guilty are not imprisoned in a Libertarian science. Who will pay for the imprisonment, the victim?
When you are guilty you have to pay back the victims for your crime, and if it turns out to be a wrong conviction, they have to pay you back.
The fallacies of intellectual communism, a compilation - On the nature of power