Texas frees day care operator convicted of abusing children with satanic rituals

[Kablooie]

35. I'm not alleging that child abuse doesn't exist or shouldn't be prosecuted.

If child abuse occurred the evidence should be sought and the perpetrators caught and punished.

But I do believe that satanic ritual child abuse is pretty much a fantasy and when that kind of inflammatory rhetoric is used it can incite a frenzy of accusations where there is no basis in reality or evidence.
Persistent abuse may be a factor but ritual abuse, meaning a formalized abuse for purposes other than sexual gratification, I do not believe occurs.

In general I believe that it is worse to imprison an innocent person than to allow a criminal to remain free.
The innocent person's life can be ruined forever if he is found guilty of a crime he did not commit while a criminal who remains free may still be caught at a later date.

A complicating factor in these cases is also the child's welfare of course.
If the pedophile remains free he can continue to perform illegal acts but to me still the ruined life of an innocent person outweighs the potential harm.

So overall I believe the accusation and verdict should come from verifiable evidence and not from some vague feeling that someone should be guilty because of a general mood of the public.
Legal standards should not be lowered simply because the crime is particularly repulsive.