Unlikely

Description

When accused of something, show that it was unlikely to be you. Things you can do to achieve this include:

If you are weak, show that it needed strength

If it needed a particular skill, indicate that you do not have this ability

Say that others have greater abilities to perform the accused action

Show that you had no motive (and that others did)

Say you were far away and would have difficulty in getting there at the time

Say you had been up for a long time the day before and were sound asleep

Example

I was in Luton in the morning. Jane will tell you that. I would have had to drive pretty quickly to be in Jealot's Hill at the time you're talking about.

Now why would I want to do that? Bill has been a good friend. There are many others who would like to hurt him. But not me, that's for sure.

I wouldn't know one end of a dog-trap from another. What's it for? Is it like a bear trap? Sounds horrible.

Discussion

Many accusations are not based on a full knowledge of the facts. Rather, the accuser has guessed that it was you, perhaps based on circumstantial evidence. If you can reduce the apparent probability of your guilt you can move their attention elsewhere. You can help this by creating doubt or pointing the finger at others who have more motive or skill.

Reducing the probability of a person's involvement is a classic courtroom technique, where the lawyers sows seeds of doubt in the minds of the jurors. This includes reducing the likelihood of both motive and ability commit the crime in question.

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Unlikely

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Quick links

Disciplines

Techniques

Principles

Explanations

Theories

And