HastingsChi
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- Aug 30, 2011
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I disagree with having a publication ban in place. While this whole manhunt was going on we were FLOODED with info. I mean there is a darn VIDEO of the crime that MANY people in this country saw!! (Not me, I had no interest in viewing such vile acts and I know viewing them would have given me some awful nightmares. My younger brother who is 20something foolishly watched said he wished he could "unwatch" it. In other words, erase those horrible images from his mind). So I have an idea of what he did but did not see the actual tape but the media here gave us play by play coverage and there is not much we do not already know from last year when this all went down.
I think a publication ban is pointless and trying to find a pool of people who do not know about the case will be a difficult task to say the least! I heard LM actually curled up into the fetal position and cried at court?? I this true? can anyone verify? If it is true I would say "NOW the tears?? for yourself Luka. Certainly not for your victims!" Surely he realizes that the rest of his life will be spent in a solitary cell with little to no contact with the outside world. We have dangerous offender application here and if he is deemed a D.O he will NEVER be released. Paul Bernardo who kidnapped and killed the schoolgirls Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French will never take a free breath again. Same for Luka. If convicted he will rot until death in a prison cell. I wish we had the death penalty for people like Luka and Paul Bernardo. Every time one of these crazy people surface and commit heinous crimes the debate re-ignites but the bleeding hearts fight tooth and nail to avoid the re-implementation of the DP. Makes me wonder if it was THEIR child brutally killed if they would feel the same way..
Anyhow, sorry for going all over the place here but I truly believe not only should the publication ban be removed but all proceedings should be streamed live from court like in the US. The public has a right to know. The perp should have minimal rights. Sadly, it is the reverse it seems! The perp has all the rights and the victims get squat!
As an American I find myself increasingly envious of the Canadian system of justice whose unwavering commitment to individual/civil rights includes a publication ban that protects the rights of the accused and, in turn, allows for protection of the fundamental right of presumption of innocence as noted in section 11(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Canada's commitment to all of the prescribed rights and freedoms of it's citizens should be universally applauded and something everyone here in the United States should be jealous of and admire.
While it's taken me a few years to reach this conclusion, in the last two years it had been solidified. For years Americans have seen a very disturbing trend which in the last two years become significantly more disturbing: the American media's decision to convict the accused in three court of public opinion long before all of the facts of an investigation/preliminary hearing are determined. The American media has no problem reporting rumor, gossip and outright lies as fact; and when that information reported is found to be inaccurate or completely fabricated the correction fails to attain the front page/top story attention, often it is buried amidst the coverage.
The American media holds the trial, plays judge and jury using not facts, but pure emotion to rally their viewers into a lynch mob. They fail to educate their audience on facts because, frankly, since they are not actual members of the prosecution team of whatever case they happen to be covering. It is far too often that when watching "coverage" of a case I've followed here at WS that I'm astounded at the plethora of inaccuracies being shared with the audience whereas those of us here do a spot on job of sharing and discussing actual facts and debunking misinformation but since we're not paid talking heads our reach only goes so far.
I'd ask everyone reading this: If you were charged with a crime you did not commit but since you met the demographic requirements to receive national media attention and there were a few photos of you that while seemingly innocent, could be interpreted by others who don't know you to be titillating and scandalous. Then people from your past who barely knew you or just didn't like you use the national exposure to further demonize you or fabricate things for their own personal gain. By the start of opening statements in your trial for a crime you didn't commit, you've already been given the death penalty by the national lynch mob. Because even if you are acquitted, your life is over.
As an American, after reading the above, wouldn't you agree that Canada's unwavering commitment to the presumption of innocence, which includes a publication ban is something that should be admired?
I wish my government valued the rights of its citizens in an unwavering manner like Canada.
(Note: In the above text I am not referring to any specific case or the guilt or innocence of a specific defendant. The above uses a mosaic of elements to illustrate why as an American I feel the Canadian justice system's publication ban is an important component that is missing from the American justice system.)