22
Opinion of the Court
in speculation, conjectures, or inferences not supported by the evidence." Id., at 2. There is accordingly no reasonable likelihood that the jurors understood the reference to moral certainty to allow conviction on a standard insufficient to satisy Winship, or to allow conviction on factors other than the government's proof. Though we reiterate that we do not countenance its use, the inclusion of the "moral certainty" phrase did not render the instruction given in Victor's case unconstitutional.
C
Finally, Victor argues that the reference to "strong probabilities" in the instruction unconstitutionally understated the government's burden. But in the same sentence, the instruction informs the jury that the probabilities must be strong enough to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. We upheld a nearly identical instruction in Dunbar v. United States, 156 U. S. 185, 199 (1895): "While it is true that [the challenged instruction] used the words 'probabilities' and 'strong probabilities,' yet it emphasized the fact that those probabilities must be so strong as to exclude any reasonable doubt, and that is unquestionably the law" (citing Hopt v. Utah, supra, at 439). That conclusion has lost no force in the course of a century, and we therefore consider Dunbar controlling on this point.
IV
The Due Process Clause requires the government to prove a criminal defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and trial courts must avoid defining reasonable doubt so as to lead the jury to convict on a lesser showing than due process requires. In these cases, however, we conclude that "taken as a whole, the instructions correctly conveyed the concept of reasonable doubt to the jury." Holland v. United States, supra, at 140. There is no reasonable likelihood that the jurors who determined petitioners' guilt applied the instruc-
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