Quote:
Originally Posted by Luckypants
Can you explain why not allowing this has reduced conviction rates?
|
As neillfergie says, really.
He's right of course, in that she doesn't deserve to be raped anymore than anyone else.
But ultimately, what a jury is trying to establish is whether the accused is trust worthy. In a rape case, where the accuser is also often the prime witness, it's just as important to establish her character as much as the accused.
If the accused appears to be of good honest character but the jury is prevented from knowing anything about the accuser then the jury is being asked to send them down because someone, who they've never seen or know anything about, says 'they did it'. In which case, they'll often throw the case out.