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November 01, 2004
Three cheers for the Noble Lords!
Definitely a huge cheer should go up for their noble Lordships' commonsense decision to reject the decision of the Appeal Court (brought by no less a person than Mrs Cherie Booth (Blair) QC) to gag the press and prevent the reporting of a case before the High Court of Justice of a murder hearing in which a mother is accused of murdering her child. The reason for the gagging order was the usual tripe about "protecting the children".
The problem, of course, is that in their efforts to protect so-called "children" - and there needs to be a major rethink on the age of criminal responsibility soon - all too often the public's right to hear the evidence, weigh up the facts for themselves, and form their own opinions are sacrficed. Equally, there is the even more dangerous reversal of the principle of law that states that the accused is innocent until the state has proven beyond reasonable doubt their guilt. Any case involving children is now seriously compromised by the refusal of courts to allow the child to be properly cross-examined, or to reveal even the full extent of the evidence the child has made available to the prosecution on the grounds that this would traumatise, compromise, or otherwise reexpose the child to the public's scrutiny.
Criminal hearings involving children are always sensitive, they are always going to be immensely complex - but this should never permit a court to deny an accused person his or her right to the presumption of innocence. All too often the conduct of social workers, women's lobbists, and other "protection" groups presume the person is guilty and proceed from there! Justice is not served in this way. It is far too important to be left in the hands of politicians and lawyers, and it is far, far too important to be influenced by well-meaning but frequently misguided special interest and pressure groups.
One of the major problems we now face in our society is the refusal, encouraged by our current crop of nannying politicians and campaigners, of many to accept responsibility for their own actions. The case of the 17 year old who murdered a little girl because she teased him is a good case in point. He has had at least three incidents of violent behaviour towards girls in the past, yet his defence is that he suffers from a "syndrome" which makes him respond inappropriately to any aggravation. His parents have actually worsened this by refusing to believe the accusations - even cutting off communication with members of their own family who have reported his previous attacks to them. Now that he has been convicted on overwhelming evidence you would think that they would accept the verdict.
You would be wrong. They are now launching a campaign to "prove his innocence". Watch this space, it won't be long before the likes of Mrs Blair are onto it and launching appeals on his behalf - completely ignoring the fact that a little girl is dead, she can never bring joy to her grieving parents, she can never enjoy the career she dreamed of, she will never experience the joy and sadness of her own family - yet this boy, the creation of our society which tells its youth that they are victims, that they are not responsible for the wrongdoing, will be free to enjoy his life to the full in a few short years - sooner, if his parents can persude the ever gullible "rights" lobbyists of his innocence.
This is what makes the freedom of the press to report these matters so vital. If Mrs Booth (BLair) had had her way, the press would in future have been routinely gagged in any case involving children. That would not be healthy for either justice, nor for the future freedom of us all.
Three cheers for their Lordships; let us hope they continue to show such good sense in future!
Posted by The Gray Monk at November 1, 2004 08:03 AM