Don't know if you ever heard of Occam's razor ...

It states, "Other things being equal, simpler explanations are generally better than more complex ones."

In the Old West, they often kept things simple ...and the understanding of the so-called law was that the people will get restless if it takes too long to find the person who committed the crime, so often someone was hauled in who was usually in trouble, or whom no one felt would be missed if convicted of the crime.  Justice was often a secondary concern ...second to keeping the peace, which often meant that peace would come by the way of an unfair trial.  The voice of the people accounted for much.

If a crime was committed, and I was the only one seen at the scene of the crime ...my assumed guilt becomes a rather simple explanation.  But, if I am innocent, the simpler explanation would not be the better one. In that case, I'd think the Occam's razor was shaving me too close, and I'd opt for a good lawyer who could come up with more complex thinking.

If I was convicted of something I didn't do, it would be as if I didn't exist ...like I wasn't here. After all, I wouldn't be here for quite some time ...as I'd be doing my time.

Speaking of not existing, or not being here ...it reminds me of a routine by Abbott & Costello: (Now, I will probably get it a bit wrong, as I do with most things, but let's give it a try.)

Abbott approaches a stranger, "I bet I can prove to you that I'm not here."

Stranger: "You've got yourself a bet."

Abbott: "Okay, we'll both put up twenty."

The stranger holds out his twenty dollar bill to match Abbott's, "Okay, here's my twenty."

Abbott: "Okay, but I need your help. I don't know what city I'm in ...am I in Boston?"

Stranger: "No."

Abbott: "Am I in Philadelphia?"

Stranger: "No."

Abbott: "Am I in New York?"

Stranger: "No."

Abbott: "So, this isn't Boston and it's not Philadelphia and we're not in New York ...I was sure I took the right train, but I must be someplace else."

Stranger: "That's right."

Abbott: "Well, if you just admitted that I'm someplace else, then I can't be here." And Abbott grabs the stranger's twenty dollars.

Stranger: "Does that dummy over there know that one?"

Abbott: "No."

Stranger walks over to Costello, and says, "I bet I can prove to you that I'm not here."

Costello: "You've got yourself a bet."

Stranger: "Okay, we'll both put up twenty."

Costello holds out his twenty dollar bill to match the stranger's, "Okay, here's my twenty."

Stranger: "Okay, but I need your help. I don't know what city I'm in ...am I in Boston?"

Costello: "No."

Stranger: "Am I in Philadelphia?"

Costello: "No."

Stranger: "Am I in New York?"

Costello: "No."

Stranger: "Well, if I'm not in Boston and I'm not in Philadelphia and I'm not in New York, then I messed up and I must be someplace else."

Costello: "That's right."

Stranger: "Well, if you just admitted that I'm someplace else, I can't be here." And the stranger grabs Costello's twenty dollars.

Costello quickly grabs his twenty dollar bill back, along with the stranger's twenty.

Stranger: "Hey, I won that fair and square."

Costello: "You just agreed you weren't in Boston, Philadelphia, or New York. You said you must be someplace else. And when I agreed, you said you just proved to me that you aren't here ...so I couldn't have just taken your money, because you aren't here."