Editing Reasonable doubt (section)

{{Short description|Legal standard of proof}}
{{Redirect|Beyond a reasonable doubt|other uses|Beyond a reasonable doubt (disambiguation)|and|Reasonable doubt (disambiguation)}}

'''Beyond''' ('''a''') '''reasonable doubt''' is a legal [[Burden of proof (law)|standard of proof]] required to validate a criminal conviction in most [[adversarial system|adversarial legal systems]].<ref>Grechenig, Nicklisch & Thoeni, Punishment Despite Reasonable Doubt - A Public Goods Experiment with Sanctions under Uncertainty, Journal of Empirical Legal Studies (JELS) 2010, vol. 7 (4), p. 847–867 [http://ssrn.com/abstract=1733792 (ssrn).]</ref> It is a higher standard of proof than the standard of [[balance of probabilities]] (US English: preponderance of the evidence) commonly used in [[Civil law (common law)|civil cases]], reflecting the principle that in criminal cases the stakes are significantly higher: a person found guilty can be [[Imprisonment|deprived of liberty]] or, in extreme cases, [[Capital punishment|life]] itself, in addition to the [[collateral consequences of criminal conviction|collateral consequences]] and social stigma attached to conviction. The prosecution bears the burden of presenting compelling evidence that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; if the [[Trier of fact|trier of fact]] is not convinced to that standard, the accused is entitled to an [[acquittal]]. Originating in part from the principle sometimes called [[Blackstone's ratio]]—“It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer”—the standard is now widely accepted in criminal justice systems throughout common law jurisdictions.