A matter of evidence

摘要

Prosecutors often argue that their cases are foolproof and their evidence incontrovertible. So they did 18 years ago in the trial of Gerald "Tooky" Amirault, accused of heading a molestation ring at a suburban Boston day-care centre. At the time, Massachusetts and the whole nation were gripped by tales of child sexual abuse, and the tiny witnesses in the Amirault case offered details that were lurid and bizarre: assaults by clowns, tortured animals, children tied naked to trees. Mr Amirault, who was 32, was convicted of rape and assault and got 30 to 40 years.