Hans Sherrer

Kirstin Blaise Lobato's Unreasonable Conviction: Possibility of Guilt Replaces Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Hans Sherrer

The murder of a homeless man in Las Vegas on July 8, 2001 was unusually vicious. Brutally beaten and stabbed, his penis was amputated after he died. Prime suspects were identified within hours of the murder, but detectives did not investigate them. Instead, weeks later they arrested an 18-year-old woman living 170 miles north of Las Vegas, based on a tipster's third-hand gossip that she might have cut a man's penis during an attempted rape in Las Vegas. That young woman is Kirstin Blaise Lobato. There is no physical, forensic, eyewitness or confession evidence tying her to the crime scene, while many eyewitnesses establish she was in Lincoln County the entire day of the murder. Yet, prosecutors have twice been able to convict Ms. Lobato based on the argument that it is possible she committed the murder. This book tells the story of how in 21st century America the possibility of guilt has been allowed to replace proof beyond a reasonable doubt as the standard for a conviction.