Posted on 08/21/2025 11:51:40 AM PDT by nickcarraway
A judge in Atlanta left a courtroom gasping after he mistakenly delivered a devastating “guilty” verdict for a man charged with murdering a police officer — when the defendant was found “not guilty” on all counts.
Judge Henry M. Newkirk on Friday botched the climax of the week-long murder trial of Alton Oliver, who was accused of fatally shooting off-duty Fulton County Deputy James Thomas in Dec. 2022.
After nine hours of deliberation, the jury found Oliver innocent — but Newkirk left out a critical word, Fox 5 reported. “We, the jury, find the defendant guilty as to all six counts with the bill of indictment. Sheriff, will you please hand this to the state’s counsel and pass it over to–” Newkirk told the court before he was interrupted by several baffled jurors who had just decided the verdict.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Oliver “got spooked”
...racist!!
Man, the flak you take for missing one little word...
A jury does not find one “innocent” as this article claims. A jury decides guilty or non guilty.
I noticed that too.
I'm gonna have to quibble with this just a bit. In our system, since defendants are -- in fact -- innocent until proven guilty, a finding that someone has not been declared to be guilty, therefore, renders that they remain as they were before the trial: 'innocent' of the charges levied.
It goes both ways at once. The defendant is found not guilty by the jury, therefor he is innocent of the charges.
Freudian Slip?
The jury didn’t decide that though. The jury decided NOT GUILTY. The judge reads the verdict. Guilty or Not Guilty. He doesn’t read Guilty or Innocent. And for that matter you are only PRESUMED innocent...not that you are actually innocent. There is a nuanced difference but a big one. Being found not guilty doesn’t mean you didn’t do the crime. Just that they couldn’t prove it. Being innocent means you didn’t do the crime.
Correct, but it also doesn't mean you did it, either: and that's why I stated 'innocent of the charges levied'... i.e., 'innocent'. That's very important to hang onto, particularly if you are indeed innocent of the crime.
But being found innocent would mean you did NOT do the crime ;-)
See the difference? Not guilty is in the middle of Guilty and Innocent.
“A jury decides guilty or non guilty.”
Actually, a jury decides proven guilty or not proven guilty.
not proven guilty = reasonable doubt.
Being found guilty doesn’t always mean you did the crime either.
That whole “innocent until proven guilty” is kind of passe anyway. It doesn’t apply to people the government doesn’t like.
There was an edition of the Bible once where the printer left the word “not” out of the commandment “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
Wait until we are in front of an AI Judge and Jury...
That is correct there are a few cases on the show Forensic Files where the defendant was initially found guilty, sent to prison for multiple years and then later evidence was found that proved he was not guilty
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