Sirius without a Trial - In Perspective

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 158758

Steve/bboyminn
> We see from the little canon that we have that Sirius
did not do this. He was overwhelmed with shock, grief,
depression, and mostly guilt. It is entirely possible
that if they had given Sirius Veritaserum, and asked him
if he was responsible for the Potter's deaths, he would
have said 'yes' and in his mind he would have been
telling the truth. We see that he is still reflecting
this sense of quilt and responsibility 10 years later
when he finally meets Harry face-to-face.

Ceridwen:
That's true.  We had a locally sensational murder case some years 
back.  The killers had gone free for fifteen years, and they were 
finally being brought to court.  The victim's family and friends were 
(literally) up in arms.  It could have turned out very messy.  The 
second defendant, who was the only one left in town, was brought into 
court to appear before the judge.  He was asked how he plead, and he 
said, "Guilty."  There was no trial, he was simply moved to the 
prison after that.

If Sirius felt such overwhelming guilt and grief at that time, he may 
have admitted his guilt - as you said, it isn't the guilt the MoM or 
Wizengamot thought it was, it was the guilt of unwittingly being the 
agent of their destruction - and was therefore sent directly to 
Azkaban without trial.

We do know that Sirius was in an uneven state.  He went after Peter 
Pettigrew when he should have called for Aurors, and he laughed 
maniacally at the destruction all around him when he was taken away.  
We know he was crazed with grief and guilt.  Pleading guilty while in 
that state wouldn't be a surprise to me.

Yeah, I know that Sirius's case is different from the Real Life case 
I mentioned above, but someone pleading guilty for whatever reason 
seems to negate the need for a trial.

Ceridwen.