Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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All suspects are presumed guilty. Otherwise, they would be suspect, would they?
I don't know about the terminology used by the actual police (maybe F2K will chime in), but given the presumption of innocent until proven guilty, persons are technically suspects (or the accused or what have you) until they are tried and convicted. I don't think perpetrator means anything different or carries any additional weight.
If I had to guess, I'd say the practice of referring to them as suspects derives from the old slander/libel laws, which made it slander per se to falsely state that someone was guilty of a felony. It may well be that the person is found innocent (e.g, the police lose the evidence, it's actually his identical twin/evil doppleganger from the nega-verse, etc.), and a statement to the contrary would result in legal liability for the speaker.
But I don't do criminal work, so I'm mostly just spouting off half remembered bits from law school.
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So I'm watching the news this morning, and they're telling a story about a teen somewhere who broke into the same jewelry store four times in one month and was caught on video surveillance every time (althought the store's alarm system failed every time). Anyway, during the entire story while they're showing the surveillance video of this punk smashing glass cases and grabbing jewelry, he's constantly referred to as 'the suspect'. Suspect??? I thought a suspect was someone who MIGHT have done something wrong, but if that someone IS doing something wrong right there in front of the camera for everyone to see, he's no longer a suspect but instead a perpetrator. Right? This is confusing.
Since the legal system in the US is based on "presumed innocent until found guilty," he's a "suspect" who "allegedly" commited a crime until he's convited.
It seems silly in today's world of video surveilence, but it's a cornerstone of a fair and just legal system. Of course, he'll be found guily, tried, and convicted in 1) the court of the media, and 2) the court of public opinion. But as far as the legal system goes, he is (and should) be innocent until convicted by a court of law.
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law school.
Law school? You poor, poor soul.
Anyway, I saw a video somewhere that showed a guy break into a convenience store (through the front door, setting off the alarm), smash open the register, and take out a fistful of cash. He then pauses, turns to the camera (apparently just noticing it), then slowly puts the money back in the destroyed register and leaves the premises.
By the way, the guy was unmasked, unarmed, and wearing a monogrammed hoodie. How dumb can you get?
What is this "soul" you speak of? Sounds painful.law school.Law school? You poor, poor soul.
You remember Sebastian think really hard it's that thing that they slowly ripped away from you tiny bit by tiny bit. I keep mine in a box under my bed while I'm at school hopefully they won't figure it out.
Fizz
