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PEOPLE Vs. Cristina De Leon, Et Al.

THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. CRISTINA DE LEON & JOHN DOE . . . At Large, accused. CRISTINA DE LEON, defendant-appellant.

G.R. No. 82882 | 1991-02-05

D E C I S I O N


GANCAYCO, J.:

Before an accused is convicted of a crime, his guilt must be proved beyond reasonable doubt and until proved guilty, he is presumed innocent. The burden of proof rests upon the prosecution and unless the State succeeds in proving his guilt, the presumption of innocence in favor of the accused applies. These are the principles that guided the Court in reversing the decision of the trial court wherein the defendant-appellant was convicted of the very serious crime of kidnapping and sentenced to serve the penalty of life imprisonment.

The facts as found by the lower court which found the story of the...