History Main / AmnesiacsAreInnocent

* Played a part in the ''Series/{{Castle}}'' episode "Like Father, Like Daughter"; while investigating a man on death row that his daughter Alexis believes is innocent, Richard Castle learns that [[spoiler:the man believes the murder he was arrested for was actually committed by his younger brother, who suffered minor brain damage after a car accident the older brother caused that gave him irregular amnesia, so the older brother believed his sibling genuinely didn't remember committing the crime and [[ItsAllMyFault blamed himself for the original injury]].]]
** Ultimately subverted as [[spoiler:it turned out someone else killed the victim and the younger brother just found the body]].
** Also discussed in "The Fifth Bullet", when the team briefly believed that amnesiac Jeremy Prestwick was guilty of murder; the team were obligated to arrest him based on the available evidence, but Castle in particular mused that it was unfair that Jeremy be sentenced for something he didn't even remember doing. [[spoiler:Luckily, just like in "Like Father, Like Daughter", it turned out that Jeremy WAS genuinely innocent.]]

* ''ComicBook/MadMan'' is a pretty innocent and childlike person due to being an amnesiac corpse.

* Subverted with ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} in ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004''. Kara is a pretty innocent, naive, scared teenager that cannot remember anything of her past. Batman suspects that her innocence may be an act, especially after ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} kidnaps her and brainwashes her. After being rescued Kara also wonders what kind of person she was. ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 When some of her memories appear to return]]'', they are pretty terrible and she believes she was a bad person before losing her memory. However, [[spoiler:she eventually got her real memories back, which proved she was always a good, well-meaning girl]].
* An issue of the ''ComicBook/TheTransformers'' comics had Starscream lose his memories in a freak accident once. Optimus considered this as Starscream's chance to start over with a clean slate. But of course StatusQuoIsGod...
* ComicBook/XMen:

** After Necrosha, ComicBook/EmmaFrost captures Sebastian Shaw and sentences him to remember nothing but the faces of his victims. He's kept at Utopia as a man with secondhand knowledge of who he was that has managed to form relationships with some of the new mutants that arrive.

ChildrenAreInnocent. Amnesiacs have memories as short as children's. Therefore, amnesiacs are innocent -- and may have other childlike, or childish, traits to boot. In addition, even if they actually have committed crimes, they may honestly have no memory of having done so.

* The entire background story to the manga ''Manga/ZennouNoNoa'': a large group of people lose their memories in what's called a terrorist attack and are basically made to live in a separate city built under Tokyo. They're even called [=KIDz=], and regardless of age a lot of them do pick up fairly childish traits.
** This takes a dark turn as the protagonist [[spoiler:was the one who suppressed their memories in the first place as a test run, with the intention of ''erasing the memories of the entire human race'' so he could indoctrinate literally everyone and become God. He succeeds, but it's heavily implied it won't end well.]]

* It really, ''really'' looked like this trope would be used to get ComicBook/IronMan off the hook for his actions in Comicbook/CivilWar. Tony ends up having to restore his brain from a backup which he made before the registration crisis. But to his credit, he refuses to use this as an excuse -- he may not remember the decisions he made, but he wasn't a different person when he made them.

* ''Comicbook/MadMan'' is a pretty innocent and childlike person due to being an amnesiac corpse.

* Subverted with Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} in ''Comicbook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton''. Kara is a pretty innocent, naive, scared teenager that cannot remember anything of her past. Batman suspects that her innocence may be an act, especially after Comicbook/{{Darkseid}} kidnaps her and brainwashes her. After being rescued Kara also wonders what kind of person she was. ''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl 2005}} When some of her memories appear to return]]'', they are pretty terrible and she believes she was a bad person before losing her memory. However, [[spoiler:she eventually got her real memories back, which proved she was always a good, well-meaning girl]].

* On ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' Dean discovers an amnesiac Castiel going by the name Emmanuel and working as a faith healer. He has no memory of JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and getting DrunkOnTheDarkSide. Instead, he is a peaceful and kind man who shows great empathy to Dean, despite sensing that Dean is an unhappy and violent man. Dean and Meg eventually jog his memory because they need him to smite some demons, and he becomes tormented by guilt over his past actions.

* The Dolls of ''{{Series/Dollhouse}}'', having no memory, are purposely programmed to fit this trope until "imprinted". They're naïve, innocent, and devoid of sexual desires... so when some of them start exhibiting traits that break these rules, you know something is wrong.

* In the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "Tabula Rasa", the main characters all get LaserGuidedAmnesia due to a spell cast by Willow. This trope comes into play with [[TokenEvilTeammate Spike]]--as a vampire, he [[OurSoulsAreDifferent has no soul]] and thus literally no sense of innate morality, and only avoids killing people because he has a RestrainingBolt. Without his memories you would assume that his amoral instincts would take over, but no, even when he discovers that he's a vampire he assumes that he's a good one.

* ''Series/DarkMatter'': After the crew of the ''Raza'' discover the things they're done before their memories were wiped clean, they are all thoroughly disgusted with themselves. Except Three, who really doesn't have a problem with the idea that he was a "badass" mercenary in his original life and starts out as arguably the TokenEvilTeammate. But is still not as nasty as he was then. And Five, of course; a MysteriousWaif who has no such record. When [[spoiler:Four]] later regains his memories, he notes that she's the one who's changed the least from her original self.

* ''Series/DarkMatter'': After the crew of the ''Raza'' discover the things they're done before their memories were wiped clean, they are all thoroughly disgusted with themselves. Except Three, who really doesn't have a problem with the idea that he was a "badass" mercenary in his original life and arguably qualifies as the TokenEvilTeammate. But is still not as nasty as he was then. And Five, of course; a MysteriousWaif who has no such record. When [[spoiler:Four]] later regains his memories, he notes that she's the one who's changed the least from her original self.

* ''Series/DarkMatter'': After the crew of the ''Raza'' discover the things they're done before their memories were wiped clean, they are all thoroughly disgusted with themselves. Except Three, who really doesn't have a problem with the idea that he was a "badass" mercenary in his original life. But is still not as nasty as he was then. And Five, of course; a MysteriousWaif who has no such record. When [[spoiler:Four]] later regains his memories, he notes that she's the one who's changed the least from her original self.

* ''Series/DarkMatter'': After the crew of the ''Raza'' discover the things they're done before their memories were wiped clean, they are all thoroughly disgusted with themselves. Except Three, who really doesn't have a problem with the idea that he was a "badass" mercenary in his original life. But is still not as nasty as he was then.

* ''Series/DarkMatter'': After the crew of the ''Raza'' discover the things they're done before their memories were wiped clean, they are all thoroughly disgusted with themselves. Except Three, who really doesn't have a problem with the idea that he was a badass mercenary in his original life. But is still not as nasty as he was then.

* ''Series/DarkMatter'': After the crew of the ''Raza'' discover the things they're done before their memories were wiped clean, they are all thoroughly disgusted with themselves. Except Three, who really doesn't have a problem with the idea that he was a hardened mercenary in his original life. But is still not as nasty as he was then.

* ''Series/DarkMatter'': After the crew of the ''Raza'' discover the things they're done before their memories were wiped clean, they are all thoroughly disgusted with themselves.

* It seems to be the case with Theo Adam in the short-lived ''ComicBook/BillyBatsonAndTheMagicOfShazam'', when Black Adam is left as a teenager with little else to his memory aside for "he is 14 years old. And likes unicorns and blowing bubbles", as a part of an order to blank his memory of Shazam. However since Shazam is most of his life the memory-wipe leaves him a little... off in the local children's home. It dosent stick, but it's the last time we see him for a while and for a kids comic is a little twisted.

** Also discussed in "The Fifth Bullet", when the team briefly believed that amnesic Jeremy Prestwick was guilty of murder; the team were obligated to arrest him based on the available evidence, but Castle in particular mused that it was unfair that Jeremy be sentenced for something he didn't even remember doing.

* ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'' has an [[TearJerker especially sad example]]: [[spoiler: it turns out the Joker didn't die, but lost his previous memory and personalty, making him a normal person and a pretty NiceGuy to boot. Unfortunately, Harley ends up having to turn him back into the Joker [[AmnesiaDanger as his new form can't remember]] where he left this book with the Justice League trapped in it.]] At the end of the episode, Harley's very clearly TryingNotToCry as she pushes him in.

** The culprit behind [[spoiler:the Broken Heart Lake Legend Murder Case blows himself up]] after being exposed as the murderer. However, his suicide attempt fails and he gets an IdentityAmnesia instead, after which he is adopted by [[spoiler:Shimon Madarame from The Undying Butterfly Case, and assumes a new identity under the name Hikage Miyama.]] He is found innocent of the second case, and Kindaichi lets him live under his new identity. It helps that he shows none of his previous identity's psychotic thirst for vengeance, but has become noble and self-sacrificing and willing to risk his life to protect his beloved.
** In [[spoiler:Demon God Site Murder Case]], the culprit is struck by lightning just as they are about to kill themselves after completing their revenge, causing them to lose their memories of the case, but is left otherwise unharmed. Since they are incurably ill and are about to die anyway, Kindaichi and friends allow them to live the remainder of their days reconnecting with [[spoiler:Satsuki, and allowing the latter to finally get to know her real mother.]]

* Isabella in ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars: Days Of Ruin''.

* Outside of his innate skill, Li doesn't remember who he is in ''FanFic/{{Foxfire}}''. While he's still bad at socializing and hot-tempered as Zuko, he's far more sweeter and less angry. Li even smiles which stuns Iroh. Even Jet, who hates firebenders, gives Li a chance due to the latter's honesty and innocence.

* The entire premise of the ''FanFic/RebornTrilogy'', in which Darth Vader suffers amnesia in a TIE-fighter crash and is captured by the Alliance. The leaders of the Alliance want to accept him among their numbers in full belief of this trope, a move that's quite controversial but is fully accepted by Vader himself, who knows of his crimes (even if he doesn't remember them) and [[AmnesiacDissonance wants to do penance for them]].
* In ''Fanfic/WhatIf'', this trope applies to Lloyd (who was once Cypher) to a degree; Lloyd might be a fully developed human being, but Thalia/Trinity argues that Neo shouldn’t kill him because Lloyd genuinely doesn’t remember committing any of Cypher’s crimes [[spoiler:(although he ends up killing Lloyd anyway when an Agent takes control of Lloyd’s body)]].

A subtrope of RousseauWasRight, since the amnesiac is operating without the social conditioning of their life experience so far, and by extension opposed to InTheBlood, since if wickedness were genetic, an amnesiac would be just as evil without their memories as with them. Because they are innocent and not actively good, it may also lead to CriminalAmnesiac, through being too trusting. They may also wreak all kinds of havoc through innocent unawareness. On a darker note, DeathOfPersonality may be employed to invoke this, and people who perform a MemoryGambit are also abusing this trope in order to further their plans.

** The culprit [[spoiler:behind the Broken Heart Lake Legend Murder Case]] tries to blow himself up after being exposed as the murderer. The suicide attempt fails and he gets an IdentityAmnesia instead, after which he is adopted by [[spoiler:Shimon Madarame from The Undying Butterfly Case, and lives on as Hikage Miyama.]] He is found innocent of the second case, and Kindaichi lets him live under his new identity.
** In [[spoiler:Demon God Site Murder Case]], the culprit is struck by lightning just as they are about to kill themselves after completing their revenge, causing them to lose their memories, but is left otherwise unharmed. Since they are incurably ill and are about to die anyway, the heroes allow them to live the remainder of their live reconnecting with [[spoiler:Satsuki, their daughter, and allowing the latter to finally get to know her mother.]]