Clearing Sirius's Name

[alhewison]

No: HPFGUIDX 41826

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Tammy Olson <chelseyo at y...> wrote:
> Clearing Sirius's Name....
>  
> First, and most obvious, EVERYONE who was a death
> eater at some point, Even the traitors such as snape,
> what happend to them? They all got a dark mark that
> appeared on their left arm. So, if Sirius didn't get
> one it should be clear that he was not ever a death
> eater or a supporter of Voldemort. 
> 
> The other thing is All the death eaters now know that
> pettigrew lived! Surely everyone else could possibly
> find out he's alive, and that would bring the chance
> to clear Sirius's name. 
> 
> Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Going back to my Law Student days...

I wonder about the role of evidence in Sirius' case. Whilst the 
circumstantial evidence points to his guilt, his wand might help 
prove his innocence:

If we assume that when Sirius was arrested that his wand was taken - 
and retained, then it should be possible to carry out "Prior 
Incantato" to see which were the last spells that Sirius performed. 
Obviously, the "Avada Kedarva" spell which resulted in 13 deaths will 
not be there. It's also possible that Pettigrew's wand was found - 
with his finger, which should show that he carried out the spell. We 
know that they both had their wands at that moment -in POA UK edition 
p 154 Fudge says:-  "he (ie Pettigrew) went for his wand. Well, of 
course, Black was quicker..." This hopefully means that Sirius was 
captured still holding his wand. Whilst they could argue that Sirius 
had swapped wands, their argument would appear to be getting weaker.

I still find the issue of Sirius' imprisonment without trial 
problematic, and wonder whether he was ever formerly convicted. The 
Right to "Habeas Corpus" - to have a fair trial dates back to the 
13th Century in England, and to a time when the 2 communities (Muggle 
and Wizard) were still closely related. From Sirius' attitude and 
Ron's shock at Sirius's imprisonment without trial in Azkaban (see p 
456 GoF UK edition - Padfoot Returns) this was unusual. Perhaps then 
a formal trial could be demanded which would include the new 
evidence - wand spells coupled with the eye witness accounts relating 
to Pettigrew. Even if the eye witnesses (a werewolf, a Parselmouth 
and 2 of his teenage friends) don't count for much, they would surely 
mean that Sirius' guilt could not be proved "Beyond all reasonable 
doubt" - the English Standard for Criminal Cases - and he should 
therefore be formerly released and pardoned.

Ali


 


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