Justice in a Democracy

Ariel Dorfman wrote in the afterword about Chile's transition from fascism into democracy and how this influenced him greatly while writing Death and The Maiden, mainly in the creation of the character of Geraldo. Proper justice and the search for the truth are main themes of the play and while Paulina is convinced that Roberto is the doctor that was responsible for her trauma and torture, Geraldo is conflicted by helping his wife achieve justice and his values of the proper way to do it.

America has one of the fairest ideals in law: the concept of making the prosecution prove to a jury that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Paulina is clearly damaged emotionally and this cripples the reliablity of her accusation of Roberto. She makes it clear that she wants to try Roberto and prove him guilty but only on her own twisted terms. This is the main conflict and Geraldo is caught in between Paulina's weak evidence and Roberto's pleas for release.

For further information of legal concepts mentioned, this article explains it much more clearly.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Beyond+a+Reasonable+Doubt