The Murder of Shirley Carter
I have seen more than a few different television shows based on this case and while I cannot say for sure what I think happened, the tactics used by law enforcement, as well as family members, have bothered me. We have seen many cases that involve both criminal and civil cases. In a criminal trial the standard to reach a guilty verdict is said to be “beyond a reasonable doubt” while in a civil trial a jury only has to consider “the preponderance of evidence” and determine if it is “likely” that a defendant committed a crime. Some say in a civil try one only has to be convinced 51% to in order to reach a verdict. In most, although admittedly not all, a civil case is generally not conducted until after a criminal trial has taken place. The civil case is some times filed before the criminal trial but is often delayed until after the criminal trial is conducted. Now, part of the reason for that is that in most case criminal charges have already been filed so the defendant is...