Tawny, are you aware of more recent national polls?
No... Why?
Tawny, are you aware of more recent national polls?
Circumstantial evidence is based upon fact. What facts prove RDI?
Circumstantial Evidence Information and testimony presented by a party in a civil or criminal action that permit conclusions that indirectly establish the existence or nonexistence of a fact or event that the party seeks to prove.
Circumstantial Evidence is also known as indirect evidence. It is distinguished from direct evidence, which, if believed, proves the existence of a particular fact without any inference or presumption required. Circumstantial evidence relates to a series of facts other than the particular fact sought to be proved. The party offering circumstantial evidence argues that this series of facts, by reason and experience, is so closely associated with the fact to be proved that the fact to be proved may be inferred simply from the existence of the circumstantial evidence.
The following examples illustrate the difference between direct and circumstantial evidence: If John testifies that he saw Tom raise a gun and fire it at Ann and that Ann then fell to the ground, John's testimony is direct evidence that Tom shot Ann. If the jury believes John's testimony, then it must conclude that Tom did in fact shoot Ann. If, however, John testifies that he saw Tom and Ann go into another room and that he heard Tom say to Ann that he was going to shoot her, heard a shot, and saw Tom leave the room with a smoking gun, then John's testimony is circumstantial evidence from which it can be inferred that Tom shot Ann. The jury must determine whether John's testimony is credible.
Circumstantial evidence is most often employed in criminal trials. Many circumstances can create inferences about an accused's guilt in a criminal matter, including the accused's resistance to arrest; the presence of a motive or opportunity to commit the crime; the accused's presence at the time and place of the crime; any denials, evasions, or contradictions on the part of the accused; and the general conduct of the accused.
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circumstantial evidence n. evidence in a trial which is not directly from an eyewitness or participant and requires some reasoning to prove a fact. There is a public perception that such evidence is weak ("all they have is circumstantial evidence"), but the probable conclusion from the circumstances may be so strong that there can be little doubt as to a vital fact ("beyond a reasonable doubt" in a criminal case, and "a preponderance of the evidence" in a civil case). Particularly in criminal cases, "eyewitness" ("I saw Frankie shoot Johnny") type evidence is often lacking and may be unreliable, so circumstantial evidence becomes essential. Prior threats to the victim, fingerprints found at the scene of the crime, ownership of the murder weapon, and the accused being seen in the neighborhood, certainly point to the suspect as being the killer, but each bit of evidence is circumstantial.
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I haven't found a more recent poll. This data was collected prior to the 10 marker + amel DNA profile's CODIS submission and WELL before discovery of the two matching TDNA profiles. I imagine the evidentiary DNA had an impact on public opinion. FWIW, I only feel like I'm in the minority @ WS/FFJ & Topix. :dunno:
"FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll.
Latest: Dec. 12-13, 2001.
N=900 registered voters nationwide.
MoE ± 3.
"On December 26, 1996, the body of six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was found in the basement of the family's home. Do you think her parents were involved in her murder?"
12/01 10/99 2/99 11/98 8/97 3/97
% % % % % %
Yes 53 49 56 60 51 54
No 14 15 9 13 13 14
Not sure 33 36 35 27 36 32
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"Do you think we will ever know what happened to JonBenet Ramsey?"
12/01 10/99 2/99 11/98 4/98 12/97
% % % % % %
Yes 15 23 15 21 25 29
No 72 62 73 68 64 59
Not sure 13 15 12 11 11 12
The Gallup Poll. Latest: March 17-19, 2000. N=1,024 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.
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"Do you think the case involving the murder of JonBenet Ramsey will ever be solved, or not?"
3/00 12/97 11/97
% % %
Will be 24 31 32
Will not be 66 58 56
No opinion 10 11 12
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"Do you, personally, have an opinion about who murdered JonBenet Ramsey?"
%
Yes 33
No 65
No opinion 2
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Asked of those who answered "Yes" to preceding question (N=337; MoE +/- 6):
"Just your opinion: Who do you think killed JonBenet Ramsey?"
%
Both parents 30
Mother 17
Father 11
Brother 9
Total stranger 5
Disgruntled employee 1
Other 19
No opinion 8"
Source: http://www.pollingreport.com/news4.htm
Tawny, are you aware of more recent national polls?
Bugliosi wasnt talking about circumstantial evidence in general, he was speaking in reference to a specific case. The case against the Ramseys is simply not comparable. In fact, it barely exists. To the extent that it does exist, it is vague and amorphous. JDI, PDI, BDI, etc. who did what and why and who knew what and when, etc. Thomas cleared Burke, gave dad a pass and pinned it on mom, Kolar seems to be pinning it on all three of them. The grand jurors dont seem to have any better idea about who did what or why than anyone else, and thought that maybe further investigation might reveal something more (it did: DNA).
Heres Bugliosi on the Ramsey case:
The strongest evidence against the Ramseys in this case is nothing that directly implicates them. [It is] the implausibility that anyone else committed [the murder]. But paradoxically, the strongest evidence , by its very nature, is the weakest evidence against the Ramseys . If we come to the conclusion that JonBenét was not murdered by an intruder, the inevitable question presents itself: which [parent] did it? A prosecutor can't argue to a jury, "Ladies and gentlemen, the evidence is very clear here that either Mr. or Mrs. Ramsey committed this murder and the other one covered it up " There is no case to take to the jury unless [the DA] could prove beyond reasonable doubt which one did it . Even if you could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Patsy Ramsey wrote the ransom note, that doesn't mean she committed the murder. http://www.usfca.edu/jco/mysteryofjonbenetramsey/ also, PMPT p. 1506 -07
BBM
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AK
No, I didnt miss the entire purpose of the quote. The mistake is yours, and everyones, who believes that such a case against the Ramseys exists.You missed the entire purpose of the quote. It wasn't to prove which R did it. It was to show that when you take all the strands of circumstantial evidence and weave them into a rope, that rope "hangs" the Rs (1, 2, or all 3 of them), and disproves the possibility of an IDI.
Regardless of what you, or any other IDI says, there is a TON of circumstantial evidence against the Rs! Maybe someone should start a thread listing all the individual items of circumstantial evidence against the Rs, and all against an IDI. That would be a list of about 1000 to precisely 1! (And a pathetically weak one at that!)
No, I didnt miss the entire purpose of the quote. The mistake is yours, and everyones, who believes that such a case against the Ramseys exists.
As I previously stated: The case against the Ramseys is simply not comparable. In fact, it barely exists. To the extent that it does exist, it is vague and amorphous. JDI, PDI, BDI, etc. who did what and why and who knew what and when, etc. Thomas cleared Burke, gave dad a pass and pinned it on mom, Kolar seems to be pinning it on all three of them. The grand jurors dont seem to have any better idea about who did what or why than anyone else, and thought that maybe further investigation might reveal something more (it did: DNA).
While the Bugliosi quote on the strength of circumstantial evidence is nice, it does not describe the Ramsey case. Since you are all fond of Bugliosi (as am I), why not quote him on the Ramsey case?
Bugliosis on the Ramsey case: There is no case to take to the jury unless [the DA] could prove beyond reasonable doubt which one did it . PMPT p. 1507
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AK
You missed the entire purpose of the quote. It wasn't to prove which R did it. It was to show that when you take all the strands of circumstantial evidence and weave them into a rope, that rope "hangs" the Rs (1, 2, or all 3 of them), and disproves the possibility of an IDI.
Regardless of what you, or any other IDI says, there is a TON of circumstantial evidence against the Rs! Maybe someone should start a thread listing all the individual items of circumstantial evidence against the Rs, and all against an IDI. That would be a list of about 1000 to precisely 1! (And a pathetically weak one at that!)
No, I didnt miss the entire purpose of the quote. The mistake is yours, and everyones, who believes that such a case against the Ramseys exists.
As I previously stated: The case against the Ramseys is simply not comparable. In fact, it barely exists. To the extent that it does exist, it is vague and amorphous. JDI, PDI, BDI, etc. who did what and why and who knew what and when, etc. Thomas cleared Burke, gave dad a pass and pinned it on mom, Kolar seems to be pinning it on all three of them. The grand jurors dont seem to have any better idea about who did what or why than anyone else, and thought that maybe further investigation might reveal something more (it did: DNA).
While the Bugliosi quote on the strength of circumstantial evidence is nice, it does not describe the Ramsey case. Since you are all fond of Bugliosi (as am I), why not quote him on the Ramsey case?
Bugliosis on the Ramsey case: There is no case to take to the jury unless [the DA] could prove beyond reasonable doubt which one did it . PMPT p. 1507
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AK
Yes, you did miss the point. No one said anything about taking the case to a jury. Your mistake! The point was there is enough circumstantial evidence that points to someone living in that house committing the crime to rule out any IDI! Don't tell me what my point was!!! :banghead:
Just so you know, I think most of us get it. The quote verifies exactly what many of us believe. It was a Ramsey. Few, if any, of us can say we are 100% sure which Ramsey it was. We may have pet theories, but most of us will acknowledge room for doubt on that point only.
But 100% sure it was a Ramsey? Definitely.
There IS a circumstantial case to be made against the Ramseys. That is true. But, the circumstantial case against the Ramseys is not of the type that Bugliosi describes.
Is the circumstantial case against the Ramseys strong enough to eliminate (rule out) the possibility of an intruder? Nope. I mean, youre all welcome to your opinion and I understand that for some SOME ruling out the possibility of an intruder is the first step in many an RDI theory, but the only way anyone is ever going to realistically do that is to show beyond reasonable doubt that a Ramsey committed this crime.
If you cant prove PDI and you cant prove JDI and you cant prove BDI, than you cant prove RDI. If you cant prove RDI, than you cant eliminate IDI. It really is that simple.
But, this elimination of IDI is the basis for much of the RDI rationale: elimination of an intruder means someone known to be in the house that night must have committed the crime. I guess we should be grateful that the Ramseys didnt have a sleepover guest that night, otherwise wed have to add GDI (or GDIs!) to the list of in-house suspects. Because thats how bad the case against the Ramseys is they are suspects by default, simply by virtue of being in the house that night.
Still, if you cant prove RDI, than you cant eliminate IDI.
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AK
With only 10 o/o of the evidence presented, those who are RDI's may not know which of the 3 R's did what, while the IDI's argue that the R's could not have done this.
The problem here is that other 90 o/o sits in storage. Why doesn't SG have the guts to get this case solved? What items were not tested because AH decided not to send them to the lab? What else did he hide? He certainly should have had the R's testify. LS presented his fiasco that was really laughable.
It seems that Boulder didn't care that a child was murdered. If they cared they would have demanded justice for her, and AH, LS, and ML had only one result in mind, which was to exonerate the R's.
They are also suspects based on many very unusual (and deceptive) behaviors that are so far beyond the norm of 'innocent' victim parents that it is nearly impossible to conceive them not being involved. In my opinion, that is one facet (in addition to evidence) that creates much of the emotion on the RDI side. The behavior is so out of the box, especially for a successful technology executive like JR who I would anticipate to be a very detail oriented and thorough person who also based on his success has an extremely good memory. I have not ever read or heard anything about these attributes anywhere, but in my experience I would be very surprised if he was not like that.