#LawTips101 The word “alleged” means be wary, because this is a claim or assertion that may not be true.
Many people (including news readers) use this word incorrectly. A person who shot and killed someone in front of witnesses is not ‘alleged’ to have shot and killed that person.
He may be ‘alleged’ to have committed murder, because the act may have been in self-defence and he has yet to be tried; but if he is seen to shoot and kill a person, this is a fact, not a claim.