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In criminal law, Blackstone's formulation (also known as Blackstone's ratio or the Blackstone ratio) is the principle that: "''It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer''", ...as expressed by the English jurist William Blackstone in his seminal work, ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'', published in the 1760s. Historically, the details of the ratio have varied, but the message that government and the courts must err on the side of innocence has remained constant. ==Historic expressions of the principle== The principle is much older than Blackstone's formulation, being closely tied to the presumption of innocence in criminal trials. An early example of the principle appears in the Bible (Genesis 18:23-32),〔Alexander Volokh, 1997〕〔(''Why Terrorism Works: Understanding the Threat, Responding to the Challenge'' ), Yale University Press, Alan M. Dershowitz, 2003〕 as: This was about the destruction of Sodom which, the Bible claims, God did destroy after rescuing most of Lot's family. Another example in the Islamic tradition, as compiled in the tome () of at-Tirmidhi, quotes Muhammad as saying, "Avoid legal punishments as far as possible, and if there are any doubts in the case then use them, for it is better for a judge to err towards leniency than towards punishment". Another similar expression reads, "Invoke doubtfulness in evidence during prosecution to avoid legal punishments". 〔(''Exegesis of Sunan at-Tirmidhi - the Book of Punishments'' ), Abu `Isa Muhammad ibn `Isa at-Tirmidhi, 884 C.E.〕 The 12th-century legal theorist Maimonides, expounding on this passage as well as Exodus 23:7 (''"the innocent and righteous slay thou not''") argued that executing an accused criminal on anything less than absolute certainty would progressively lead to convictions merely "according to the judge's caprice. Hence the Exalted One has shut this door" against the use of presumptive evidence, for "it is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death."〔〔Moses Maimonides, ''The Commandments, Neg. Comm. 290'', at 269-271 (Charles B. Chavel trans., 1967).〕 Sir John Fortescue's ''De Laudibus Legum Angliae'' (c. 1470) states that "one would much rather that twenty guilty persons should escape the punishment of death, than that one innocent person should be condemned and suffer capitally." Similarly, on 3 October 1692, while decrying the Salem witch trials, Increase Mather adapted Fortescue's statement and wrote, "It were better that Ten Suspected Witches should escape, than that one Innocent Person should be Condemned."〔(【引用サイトリンク】year=1693 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Blackstone's formulation」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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