"Innocent until proven guilty" is the single most important aspect of our justice system. It's one of the reasons that we, as US citizens, enjoy the freedoms that we have. It's protection of our rights, for guilty and innocent alike.We make assumptions all the time. Sometimes our assumptions are no-brainers, sometimes they're murkier. But, it's still important that, no matter our assumptions, we do treat everyone with the same "innocent until proven guilty" philosophy. Otherwise, what would be the point of having our justice system at all? Why not just have flash mobs getting ropes and hanging people from trees based on their assumptions?
All that aside, please read +Rick Stilwell's comment, as I feel that is the bigger picture. We're (too often) focused on the wrong things.
I wrote the above in response to a comment asking why we're calling the Aurora shooter "alleged" and "suspect" even though the general consensus agrees that he is guilty.
I'm a strong believer in Due Process. It's one of the most virtuous ideals within our justice system. It guarantees that criminals be treated as human beings and challenges us to work to find truth and fact amidst clouds of misinformation, perception, and interpretations.
You can view the original Google Plus post (and comments) here.