INDEX:
1. innocent
2. to say publicly that you are innocent
3. when a law court decides that someone is innocent
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ GUILTY
see also
↑ CRIME
↑ JUDGE
↑ ACCUSE
↑ COURT/TRIAL
↑ HONEST
↑ GOOD
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1. innocent
▷ innocent /ˈɪnəs ə nt/ [adjective]
if someone is innocent of a crime, they did not do it - use this especially about someone that other people think is guilty :
▪ ‘I didn’t kill him - I’m innocent!’ Davies shouted.
▪ Bates allowed an innocent man to go to jail for his crime.
innocent of
▪ Jett maintains that he is completely innocent of the charges against him.
be presumed innocent
legally treated as being innocent
▪ Under criminal law people are presumed innocent until proved guilty.
innocence [uncountable noun]
when you are not guilty of a crime :
▪ Her parents were convinced of her innocence.
▷ not guilty /nɒt ˈgɪlti/ [adjective]
if someone is not guilty of a crime, they did not do it - use this especially when a court has officially decided that someone did not do a crime :
▪ You don’t have anything to be afraid of if you are not guilty.
▪ The evidence will show that my client is absolutely not guilty, Your Honour.
not guilty of
▪ She was convinced he wasn’t guilty of the crime, no matter what anyone said.
verdict of not guilty
official judgement
▪ Within just a few minutes the jury of ranchers returned a verdict of not guilty.
▷ blameless /ˈbleɪmləs/ [adjective]
not having done anything wrong, or not responsible for something bad that has happened :
▪ None of us is completely blameless - we all knew something like this could happen.
▪ The women had made every effort to lead blameless lives.
▪ Last week a special prosecutor ruled that the three officials were blameless.
▷ in the clear /ɪn ðə ˈklɪəʳ/ [adverb] informal
if you are in the clear, it cannot be officially proved that you have done something illegal or criminal :
▪ If we all stick to the same story we’ll be in the clear.
stay/keep in the clear
▪ By keeping his name off all the documents, he’d managed to stay in the clear.
put somebody in the clear
▪ The testimony of the two witnesses seemed to put Richardson in the clear.
2. to say publicly that you are innocent
▷ plead not guilty /ˌpliːd ˌnɒt ˈgɪlti/ [verb phrase]
to say publicly and officially in a court of law, that you are innocent of a crime :
▪ According to Maloney’s lawyer, she will plead not guilty.
plead not guilty to
▪ Barkin pleaded not guilty to the rape charges in municipal court Thursday.
▪ After pleading not guilty to the charges of conspiracy, Davis was released on bail.
▷ protest your innocence /prəˌtest jɔːr ˈɪnəs ə ns/ [verb phrase]
to say repeatedly that you are innocent, especially when other people think that you are guilty :
▪ The men have protested their innocence for 25 years.
▪ Schultz appeared in public again on Wednesday to protest her innocence and deny any wrong-doing.
3. when a law court decides that someone is innocent
▷ find somebody not guilty /ˌfaɪnd somebody ˌnɒt ˈgɪlti/ [verb phrase]
▪ We find the defendant not guilty, Your Honor.
▪ Despite the large amount of evidence against him, the jury found Gibson not guilty.
find sb not guilty of
▪ The two women were found not guilty of drug-trafficking.
▪ It took the jurors less than three hours to find Gessler not guilty of murder.
▷ acquit /əˈkwɪt/ [transitive verb usually in passive]
if someone is acquitted by a law court, they are officially told they are not guilty of a crime :
▪ Few observers expect the jury to acquit Mr Hoskins.
▪ His lawyer thought he had a good chance of being acquitted at the trial, if no further evidence was found.
acquit somebody of something
▪ To her relief she was acquitted of all the charges laid against her.
▷ clear /klɪəʳ/ [transitive verb usually in passive]
if you are cleared of a crime, a court of law says that you are innocent, because it is impossible to legally prove that you are guilty :
▪ After Pagones was cleared in court, he sued his accusers.
clear somebody of something
▪ A jury cleared the company of all criminal charges in connection with the accident.
▪ Marshall was given his job back after being cleared of accusations that he abused drugs.