Understanding The Alibi Defense

If you’re facing criminal charges, you are innocent until proven guilty. And it’s up to the prosecution to prove you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. However, while the burden of proof officially lies with the prosecution, you should be ready with a strong defense strategy. You should prepare a defense strategy that can help you undermine the prosecution’s case. It is also best to consider preparing a defense strategy that can help you prove that you could not have committed the crime in question. Fortunately, a qualified criminal defense attorney can help you prepare a strong defense strategy that can help you fight your charges.

The defense strategy your criminal defense attorney prepares for you will depend on your case’s specifics. Depending on the specifics of your case, one defense that can help you fight your charges is the alibi defense. Below is more on the alibi defense.

Defining the Alibi Defense

The alibi defense alleges the accused couldn’t have committed the crime in question since they were at another location other than where the crime occurred when the crime occurred. Unlike self-defense or the insanity defense, the alibi defense is not an affirmative defense. When a criminal defendant raises an affirmative defense, they acknowledge they committed the crime in question but argue that they were justified to commit the crime. The alibi defense is a valid defense in Kentucky, and if successful, it can lead to criminal charges being dropped.

Supporting an Alibi Defense

It is usually not enough for the defense side to raise the alibi defense. You need to present evidence to support an alibi defense. One of the types of evidence you can use to support an alibi defense is witness testimony. However, if you are using witness testimony, you must be careful about who you ask to be a witness. Your loved ones can testify about an alibi, but the court may wonder if such people would lie for you. The court may wonder if your loved ones can’t accept that you could have committed a criminal act. Usually, the best person to ask to testify about an alibi is someone who does not have a personal relationship with the defendant. Such a person will likely be considered more credible as their lack of a personal relationship makes them appear unbiased and objective.

Other evidence you can use to support an alibi defense includes video surveillance footage, photos, GPS records, and documents such as hotel reservations and credit card receipts. Such evidence can be the strongest. However, having such evidence does not automatically mean your charges will be dropped. The prosecution can challenge such evidence. For instance, if your attorney presents video footage, the prosecutor might question its date stamp.

In conclusion, you should note that even if you cannot convince the court that you were somewhere else other than at the crime scene when the crime happened, the prosecution still has to prove all other elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

Contact a London Criminal Defense Attorney

If you’re being charged with a crime in Kentucky, contact a London criminal defense attorney at Cessna & George Law Firm. We can help you develop a strong defense strategy that can help you fight your charges.

Source:

law.cornell.edu/wex/beyond_a_reasonable_doubt#:~:text=This%20means%20that%20the%20prosecution,to%20render%20a%20guilty%20verdict