Talk:Giacinto Achilli

'Adultery' with Miss Bogue

It is mentioned he last appeared in court, in the USA, for "adultery with a Miss Bogue". However it is not clear if either were married to other people at the time. Clarification needed here - if neither were married, then the sexual offence cannot be adultery (which in some nations' laws is a crime rather than a civil wrong).Cloptonson (talk) 21:07, 7 June 2016 (UTC)

'False accusations'

I see that the article in several places confidently describes accusations against Achilli as 'false'. One of the citations used for this (Ward 1912 p. 192) certainly does not support this, as it merely says that most of such accusations brought in the 1852 libel case were dismissed as unproven. I suspect that the other citation says the same, although I do not have access to it. I suggest we revert the article's wording to speak of "allegations", as was the case before a set of edits from an IP address on 7 Feb 2022. Mrmedley (talk) 03:04, 22 April 2023 (UTC)

The article by Ian Ker in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography certainly does not say that the accusations against Achilli were false. Based on what he writes in his biography of Newman, Ker clearly thinks that the accusations are true. Achilli was found guilty in an Italian court, but in the English court, it was found Newman was found guilty of libel for repeating the accusations (thus implying Achilli was innocent). The legal score is therefore, at best, 1-1. I think that neutrality is preserved, as you say, by stating simply that accusations were made against him. Bmurphy06 (talk) 22:34, 18 June 2023 (UTC)