Unravelling the Golden Thread: Presumption of innocence, fair trial, and lay belief change

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It is not known how the presumption of innocence performs as a trial safeguard to protect the innocent accused. The aim of this project is to investigate lay formulations of the presumption and assess their impact on evidence interpretation and applications of the standard of proof. This project is significant because it will, for the very first time, provide robust empirical evidence regarding the extent to which the presumption is applied in a manner consistent with the fair trial values of adversarial criminal justice. The project will apply cognitive science methods and theories to the quantification of the presumption, providing necessary insights into the functioning of a vital safeguard against wrongful convictions.