Many people use to paraphrase the rule of law to their own convenience, ignoring the reality of the Bills of Rights as drafted by the founder fathers to protect the people from the excess of government. Our Criminal Justice System is built surrounded by the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, not the other way. That presumption of innocence is based on the letters and the spirit of the law as written in the 5th, 6th, 8th, and 14th Amendments.
Moreover, in the Article 11 of the Declaration of Human Rights is stated as follows; “Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which [they have] had all the guarantees necessary for [their] defence.”
5th Amendment “breaks down into five rights or protections: the right to a jury trial when you’re charged with a crime, protection against double jeopardy, protection against self-incrimination, the right to a fair trial, and protection against the taking of property by the government without compensation.” (FindLaw.com)
6th Amendment: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.”
8th Amendment: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
14th Amendments: “… No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Therefore, the bottom line of all those citations above is that the burden of proof is always on the government to satisfy you (the people, the public) that [defendant] is guilty of the crime with which [he/she] is charged beyond a reasonable doubt.
The defendant has any obligation to prove nothing. The government does have the obligation to prove that the defendant is guilty BEYOND a reasonable doubt. Meanwhile, the defendant shall have the RIGHT to DEFEND his/her innocence in a fair trial.