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2016-02-09T20:35:13Z

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From [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2016/02/08/the-paradox-of-unanimity/ Volokh Conspiracy]:

:In ancient Jewish law, a unanimous guilty verdict in a capital case resulted in an acquittal of the defendant.

:The voluminous commentary on Jewish law contains a number of explanations for this paradoxical rule: that the court has an obligation to seek some “merit” in the accused and to seek to preserve his/her life, and unanimity suggests that it failed to fulfill that obligation; or that the sin of someone against whom the evidence was so compelling was so great that forcing the accused to life under its burden was a harsher punishment than death itself. (A good discussion of this issue can be found here.)

:But a fascinating paper about to appear in the Proceedings of the Royal Academy A (Math & Physics) suggests that there may be some additional wisdom behind the rule.
{{wl-publish: 2016-02-09 12:35:13 -0800 | Ryan:Ryan Scott }}

Blog:Main/"The Paradox of Unanimity" - Revision history

Ryan@ryanscottlaw.com: Created page with "From [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2016/02/08/the-paradox-of-unanimity/ Volokh Conspiracy]: :In ancient Jewish law, a unanimous guilty verdict in ..."