People saw them comitting the crime but they denied their fault/guilt?
On the the lesson I chose guilt but now I think that fault is much more suitable.
Can I use guilt in the sentence or this is semantically incorrect?
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How about denied any wrongdoing?– Kman3Commented Mar 8, 2018 at 4:51
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2 Answers
Use guilt. Fault seems more accidental, often resulting in unintended consequences, whereas guilt is always deliberate and ill-intended, and is usually associated with crime or wrongdoing.
For instance, if a child dropped and broke a plate, it would be fault, since the child didn't intend to break the plate. If some criminals rob a bank, it is guilt, since they knew that what they were doing was wrong and knew the potential consequences in advance.
When a crime has been committed the objective is to find out who actually committed the crime, which is to say, who is guilty.
The police seem to think I committed the crime, but I have to tell you I'm not guilty.
For civil cases, where someone may be responsible for the damage caused, the objective is to determine who is at fault (or to blame).
The cases lasted several months, with the judge hearing evidence from various witnesses over who, exactly, was at fault for the data breach, and to determine the extent of the damage caused in order to assess financial penalties.
In your example it depends on what you mean to say. Again, if you are talking about actual criminal activity, use guilt. Otherwise fault is probably more appropriate.
