New policing approach - guilty until proven innocent

You could spin this again, and it is another topic we have debated many times on here and thats if you grant the victim anonymity then so should the ALLEGED perpetrator.

Also slight tangent on the OP - have you seen the news about the footballer thats been convicted of rape, imprisoned and released. He has joined his old team training but they have yet to announce whether to resign him, several celebrities have spat their dummy at the club for allowing him to train with them.

He has always maintained his innocence and im not going in to the actual crime itself but surely under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act now he has served his time so shouldn't he be free to rebuild his life and join the club?

 If accused him is now presumed guilty until proven innocent, then that will make a complete mockery of any jury system. Simply because if a jury assumes that the person in the dock is guilty before any evidence is heard then those in the jury who don't want to be there won't have to concentrate to hard on the evidence and just rubber stamp the verdict. The trouble is nowadays even if you are found not guilty, if the crime you are accused of is so heinous you will always be associated with it and the rest of your life is stuffed....

I really ought to keep private and business opinions separate... but...

A really good mate of mine was accused of a very serious offence (One which, if found guilty, would see him have a custodial sentence).

The Police arrested him, banged him up, interviewed him, he gave a full statement, without a brief.

The Magistrate authorised his detention in custody.

The Press printed his name, and all details.

The case was passed to the Crown, he pleaded Not Guilty, it went to trial. It was a hung verdict, a re-trial was announced.

Wife left him, took the kids. Lost his job (Obviously) and house. Most of his friends, thanks to the press, and facebook (Little minds little talk). Parents disowned him, brother and sister too.

He had the retrial, and then, Guess what... Unanimous Not Guilty verdict from the Jury. He was released - Yay! A free man!.... a very very broken man.

Complainant, well, she didn't get charged with Perjury, and life continued for her. There was a tonne of support at the time, which continues to this day. The very vocal comments from the Police were that he "Got away with it".

How did he get the NG verdict? well, the defence team was able to demonstrate he was in Spain at the time of the alleged offence, for 2 years before, and 3 after, with no returns to the UK.

His parents have re-built the bridge, which is good, because he lives in their spare room.

You see - It's a massive dilemma. On the one hand, people do get hurt, and they do deserve justice, and offenders do need to be prosecuted. On the other, their does appear to be an inordinate level of false accusations, potentially powered by the Criminal Compensation Scheme. 

I think, with the attitude of some Police Officers, their investigatory powers are affected, and they are unable to use the power of discretion to ascertain if an offence has actually occurred. 

In my example, which is a factual story of my mate, he was not guilty - even when proven not guilty, and the system has ruined him.

From our old group of mates, it's just me, and one other who has stood by him (I even went to court on both trials and the evidence, especially second time round was overwhelming in his favour).

I once heard someone quote that "All the British legal system needs to fail, is for one person to lie". In a world where the Police are found out to lie... as it spirals down through all the other agencies down to complainants, what hope do we have?

We survive by the skin of our teeth, in the prayer that no one says we did anything.

As for the Footballer who has served time for a guilty verdict of Rape, check out his website. He does maintain his innocence still. What I cant understand is that he has been released early. To my understanding, you would have to admit guilt, attend a treatment programme etc before you could be considered to be released. I am not totally sure.

What I do know, whether I believe he is innocent or not, he was Found Guilty by the Jury (and therefore is guilty within the eyes of the law - even though his website makes a good stand at convincing me of his actual innocence). I imagine he is held on the Sex Offenders Register perhaps, and all in all, this does not make him a good candidate to represent anything as a footballer.

He doesn't fall into the Remit of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, as I don't think his sentence is yet spend (This tends to continue beyond a prison sentence), and although the ROA was amended earlier this year I think, he is still under it's notification stuff etc I believe. 

There's a lot of 'I thinks" and "I believes" going on in my sentences, it's because I'm not totally sure.

All I do know, is it appears all to be a mess. Some kind of witch hunt going on, with truly evil people hiding in plain site, and innocent casualties in-between. What to do... I'm so open to suggestion!

Wow, a powerful, personal and tragic story.

Good on you for standing by him. Obviously don't go into the facts of the case, but surprised his wife didn't stand by him. I think my wife can tell in an instant if I've done wrong! As for the parents, you'd think you'd know your own kids.

But it is a scary world we live in sometimes where everything can come crashing down in an instant. Even worse if you know you are innocent but no one believes you.

Steve, I think the Police can be very convincing at times.

I grew up in a world where we were taught to trust the Police, and have to de-learn this. Of course, most Police people are good. But... it only takes one bad person to ruin your day.

Yeah, I agree. I couldn't turn away a friend, let alone a family member, and I'd be hard pressed not to forgive someone if they had done something. It's an eye opener for sure, and when you scrape the surface off, you realise it is a bigger problem than most people care to think about.