innocence

Innocence is the state of being morally blameless or not guilty of a crime, and more broadly the condition of having little knowledge or experience in a given area. The word comes from Latin innocentia, through Old French innocence, and its use spans legal, moral, and everyday contexts.

In legal contexts, innocence is central to the presumption of innocence, the principle that a person charged with a crime is considered innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof and the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt determine the outcome of a case, and rulings such as acquittals reflect this principle. In civil or administrative settings, innocence may be assumed or established by specific findings or defenses.

Philosophically, innocence can denote moral purity, intent, or a lack of culpability. It is often contrasted with guilt, but the boundaries can blur when intent, ignorance, or external circumstances complicate responsibility. The concept also encompasses the idea of innocence as a quality worthy of protection or as a vulnerability that can be exploited. The phrase losing one's innocence describes the process of acquiring knowledge of harm, wrongdoing, or complexity.

Childhood innocence refers to stages of growth when perceptions are untainted by experience; as people mature, social and moral education typically expands awareness, sometimes tempering or reshaping innocence. In religion and culture, innocence is frequently linked to purity, rebirth, and forgiveness, and it is a recurrent theme in literature and art, where innocent characters highlight wrongdoing or resilience.

Modern discussions include the Innocence Project, an organization that seeks to exonerate wrongfully convicted people through legal advocacy and DNA testing. See also guilt, blamelessness, presumption of innocence, naivety.