The legend of the king of crossing

Chapter 357 Presumption of Innocence

The first and second points I just mentioned are easy to understand for Song Chengzu and other experienced criminal investigation experts, but as for the third point, the principle of law enforcement, all the officials in the hall are quite confused. Surprisingly, it also included Song Chengzu, Chen Zongli and other senior members of the judicial circle.

In fact, this view has gradually been recognized in later generations, and it is also the law of human nature formulated by the democratic and legal society of later generations. Of course, under the protection of this law, criminals who really break the law are likely to escape the punishment of the law. Justice is here No justice is done, but if a good man is wronged as a result, justice here will be doubly hurt, the victim and the wronged.

I saw that everyone showed doubts, so I explained: "The real criminal who was let go is likely to commit crimes again and cause new harm to society. However, the duty assigned to judicial officials by the law can only be to punish those criminals. There is evidence to prove that the person who violated the law, but the person who may violate the law cannot be punished. This criminal who was released because of no evidence can only be considered as a victim until he is caught by the government without any new violations. Ordinary people protected by the law of our court, Chen Aiqing and Song Aiqing, as the highest officials of our court's law enforcement agencies, the best way for you to make a difference in your current positions without making mistakes is to respect every person protected by the law A person, no matter how high or low his status or property is, no matter whether he is noble or humble, as long as he is a member of the Song Dynasty, he should enjoy the right to legal protection. This kind of view is not only for you, but also for your subordinates. Instill it in all relevant officials, dear dears, you should understand these notices from me, "

"Yes, Your Majesty,"

"Okay, let me move on to the fourth point. Before I say this, I would like to ask everyone, at the beginning of human beings, is human nature inherently good or inherently evil?"

"Ben Shan,"

"Ben Shan,"

"This is evil,"

"A little bit of both,"

"There is neither good nor evil,"

A variety of different theories are intertwined, but relatively speaking, more people answer that sex is inherently good.

I reached out my hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "The purpose of asking everyone this question is not to give a correct answer to the question itself, but to make a fundamental change in the current way of judging the case. Dear dear friends, the ancient Kong Qiu once said However, the good and evil of the people do not lie in the people themselves, but in the ruling class. I have also heard a little story, which is similar to the meaning of Confucius. It is said that in a certain dynasty, when the emperor went out for a private visit, he met a beggar and asked He said, "Why are there so many beggars now?" The beggar didn't know the identity of the emperor, and said, "The number of beggars is not decided by the beggars, but depends on the current emperor." I quoted Confucius' words and The beggar's words are to explain the reasons why the common people form good and evil. Consciousness gradually transitions from the existing law of presumption of guilt to the law of presumption of innocence, this is my fourth proposal."

Chen Zongli, Secretary of the Criminal Ministry, said: "Your Majesty, since ancient times, law enforcement agencies have adopted the presumption of guilt. What is the meaning of the presumption of innocence that Your Majesty mentioned?"

"The law of presumption of guilt is based on the inherent evil of human nature, while the law of presumption of innocence is based on the inherent goodness of human nature. This is the purpose of asking everyone about the good and evil of human nature. Let me give another example. If a family goes to the Yamen to sue, saying that you stole a chicken from their house last night, then the two presumptions will have different trial procedures. When the presumption of guilt is adopted, the county presupposes that you have indeed committed the crime of stealing chicken Sin, unless you can prove that you can’t steal chickens, for example, the widow Li in the next village is crying to help you prove that you actually drank at her house last night until the early morning, and you didn’t have time to commit crimes, so you are not guilty, and you are not guilty As for the presumption method, the county master presupposes that you are innocent unless he can find evidence that you really stole the chicken. For example, Widow Li in the next village said that you invited her to eat chicken for no reason last night, and the yamen officer dug out the chicken bones from your trash can , and you haven't bought chicken at all, folks, can you hear the difference?"

Wen Tianxiang said: "Your Majesty, the method of presumption of innocence means that the government cannot find evidence, so it cannot be concluded that he is guilty,"

Song Chengzu also said: "Your Majesty's intention is that the presumption of innocence is based on the goodness of human nature, and its purpose is to prevent good people from being wronged."

"Yes, that's what I mean. The third and fourth points are related. Regarding these two points, the relevant personnel should think about it first. This is a change in the ideology of the criminal law, and it is a manifestation of my advocacy of the supremacy of human nature, but it is not a one-off It can be reversed, Chen Zongli, Song Chengzu, your Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and the Department of Law discuss it together, and then play it to me."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will obey the order,"

"Next, let me talk about the fifth point, which is the last point. This last point is because I plan to establish a jury trial system,"

"What is this, jury,"

"Dear dear friends, since the law cannot cover everything, there may be gaps in many areas, and the understanding of the detailed rules of the law will vary from person to person, so I propose to try the jury system where possible , The jury I mentioned refers to the representative and no bad deeds selected from the local people. The jurors are independent of the government, the judicial system, and any political forces. Their Judgment is the judgment that ordinary people will make under the law's regulations on the jury. The jury system has two advantages. One is that it can widely listen to public opinion in places where the law is blank, and it can supervise the government's decision process. , to curb government corruption and dictatorship,"

The jury system has advantages and disadvantages. I think it’s okay to try it, at least it can make the local government feel lingering.

I continued: "Let me give another example. For example, when Lin'an Mansion is trying a case, there will be jury members on the side. Depending on the size of the case, there can be different numbers of jury members. People have nothing to do with each other, so they will look at the Lin'an Prefecture's judgment process from the perspective of a neutral person. If all the jury members think that there is a problem with the Lin'an Prefecture's judgment, it may mean that there is a problem with the Lin'an Prefecture. The second is that there is a problem with the existing law. If this happens, the case will be reviewed by the higher-level department of Lin'an Prefecture, and the process will be recorded in the case file. If you can see the problem of the law, then the Law Department should re-examine whether the law needs to be revised,"

Wen Tianxiang said: "Your Majesty's proposal is quite novel, I think you can give it a try, at least you can supervise the government's trial,"

Chen Zongli said: "The minister seconded the decision, it's just how to choose the jury members,"

"The members of the jury must first live in the local area; second, they must be adults and have the ability to judge affairs independently; third, they must act impartially and must not have bad records; fourth, they must be universal. For example, in this In Lin'an City, there must be representatives of the handicraft industry, representatives of the commerce industry, representatives of urban residents, representatives of scholars, and other people of different professions. Fifth, you can also think about it."

"The minister has his own play," said Lin'an prefect Shi Qian's friends.

"Qian Aiqing, please tell me,"

"Your Majesty, I am willing to conduct a trial in Lin'an Mansion,"

I praised: "Okay, this matter will be handed over to the Government Affairs Council, the Ministry of Punishment and the Lin'an government to discuss together and work out a feasible plan."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will obey the order,"

"Okay, step back,"

Wudang Wudang Martial Arts Hall is located about ten meters behind the Red Cross, which is also one of the properties of Shifeng Commercial Company. The purpose of the Wudang Martial Arts Hall is to strengthen the body. Work hard and wash away the shame of Jingkang,"

In the upper right corner of the horizontal plaque in the martial arts hall, there is a mighty lion. This pattern is very familiar to the people of Lin’an, because this lion is the unique symbol of Shifeng Trading Company. There is this pattern, and it is also on the horizontal plaque of the Tongle Building. The Wudang Martial Arts Hall is also one of Shifeng's properties. The people who came to watch the unveiling ceremony knew the origin of the martial arts hall as soon as they saw this pattern.

There are many rumors about Shifeng Trading Company, and the rumors are becoming more and more mysterious, but generally speaking, the people of Lin'an City still have a high evaluation of Shifeng Company. There is only one reason. The products produced, which are closely related to people's lives, will not increase in price at will. MSG is a representative of it. Since its listing, although the supply has exceeded demand, the price has dropped twice in a row.

Although the common people are not clear about the role of the Wudang martial arts hall, there are a lot of people who come to watch because of the name of the Lion Peak. The notice of the martial arts hall is simple and clear. It teaches free of charge to people who are willing to practice martial arts, regardless of age, gender, as long as they abide by the rules of the martial arts hall, they can come here to practice martial arts to strengthen their bodies.

With the assistance of Longya personnel, the unveiling ceremony of the martial arts hall was impressive, and the ribbon-cutting ceremony was presided over by Lu Xiufu, acting president of the Military Affairs Academy. This makes it easy to think that there is a certain relationship between the martial arts hall and the imperial court.

"This is another charitable cause. The emperor's actions are all for the sake of the people. It is said that the northerners are strong and the southerners are weak. If the physique of the people in my dynasty is improved, then we really shouldn't be afraid of Mongolia. It’s time for someone,” Pu Shougeng, who attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, thought, and secretly rejoiced that he was following the right person.

When the ribbon-cutting ceremony was in progress, I received news from the people of Longya that Li Beiyang, the commander of the navy, had returned to Lin'an and was in the Military Academy. So, after the ceremony, I hurried over with Yuan Ji, Xiao Qi and Lu Xiufu To the Military Academy.

Li Beiyang has been away from Lin'an for nearly half a year. When he saw me, he knelt down and bowed. He said excitedly: "My minister, Li Beiyang, sees Your Majesty."

Without my promotion and appreciation, it is estimated that Li Beiyang would have spent his life in obscurity, and he would have no chance to establish achievements beyond his ancestor Li Bao.

"Li Aiqing, Li Aiqing, thank you for your hard work."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Li Beiyang stood up and pointed to a middle-aged man behind him, "Your Majesty, this is Mr. Cai Changcai from the Ryukyu Islands. His ancestral home is Penglai. He is the first envoy of the Ryukyu Province elected by the minister. Please also examine him. decided, "

"From Ryukyu,"