Reasonable Doubt

The Chronicle Review has an interesting article about the origins of the doctrine of "reasonable doubt". According to a new book, The Origins of Reasonable Doubt: Theological Roots of the Criminal Trial by Yale Law professor James Q. Whitman, reasonable doubt was not designed primarily as a protection for defendants, nor as a rule of factual proof. Rather, the doctrine emerged in common law as a protection for jurors' souls, an assurance that jurors could convict a defendant without risking their own salvation.