Why do we do that?

[BernieTeyze]

Why do we decide if people accused of crimes are innocent or guilty, based on what we have seen or heard in the media?
The McCanns for instance, they are not known personally to any of us on here,as far as I am aware.None of us were or are part of the investigation team..and yet, some of us are keen to defend them, saying how could anyone possibly think they had any part in their childs disappearance..they did they left her and her siblings alone in an apartment in another country and went out to socialise..and risked their childrens lives by whatver means..fire,abduction,or falling out of bed..They werent there. Yet, they are still refered to as those poor McCanns.If they werent educated, professional people, and lived in a council flat on benefits,would the outcome be the same. Would the remaining children be taken into the 'safety' of the local authority,yet as far as I am aware no charges of child neglect or supervision order have been made public knowledge.
Oscar Pistorious, another case, where I have been in the same position, listening to the media lead up to the shooting of his girlfriend.was it a cold blooded murder of his girlfriend or was there somebody unknown locked in his bathroom....or hang on a minute..so was pumping 4 high velocity bullets through a locked door without asking who it is, ok then? Don,t the Police have to offer a warning, come out with your hands up else we will fire? Is he saying he didn,t intend to kill anyone when he did it? So will he be freed based on he killed the wrong person?

Strange how we make judgements isn,t it? My mam used to watch the news, and watch news conferences and be saying no he,s done that..so is it any wonder the person she convicted on jury service,was released on appeal 6 years later,from new dna evidence turning up..and still she insisted he was guilty. 

Nowt queer as folk is there.  

[stoop]

I personally think they made an error of judgement - like many people do when they are on holiday. They might not leave their kids home alone but believe me there are many people who make errors of judgement whilst they are enjoying themselves in the sun. How many have fallen off balconies? How many kids have drowned in swimming pools? The list goes on.

They thought it was safe to leave them and check every half hour or so because it was in a complex and they could just about see the apartment from where they sat.

A stupid error of judgement for which they have paid with sorrow for the rest of their lives.

[BernieTeyze]

Yes Stoop..but why do you think that?..why don,t I think that? Thats what I mean, how we all prejudge these situations without actually having any evidence of it either way. I have been guilty of vehemently defending 'my side on more than one occasion,through this and April Jones case, Soham murders' ..yet neither of us or indeed any of us know for a fact what the truth is..but still we do it.

[stoop]

Because we are human I guess. We all have opinions.

We even judge people by the way they look. I've been guilty of that I admit. Sometimes I am correct and other times not. Is this why those interviewed are watched by behaviour specialists to try and gain info from their expressions/movements?

[suehugh]

We can only make our innocent or guilty verdicts based on what is presented to us via the media, because that's all we have.
In a court , the evidence is presented via a number of people from both sides , and sometimes the defendants, then it's for the jury to decide.
The strange bit comes , when 12 people sit side by side listening to the same info come to different conclusions. If you ever come up before the beak, demand a jury trial, you have a high percentage chance of getting off, guilty or not.

[Lotty]

There is still evidence withheld from juries and the public because it might 'unfairly' influence the verdict. Trivial in comparison but my daughter and I had to attend court when she had her bag stolen in a London store. It was all caught on CTV. It was an organised gang, very well dressed. You should have heard the sad, sorry culprits, oh they'd never do it again, had started courses to improve themselves, children to care for etc. it was pathetic. The police officer with us said this was normal practice. They were found guilty but because of their suitably pitiful remorse were allowed off to 'improve' their lives. Afterwards the jury was read a long list of recent previous crimes they'd committed, but not before the hearing. Hmm.

[suehugh]

I actually agree that only evidence relating to that particular case should only be heard. The trial is only for that particular crime.
It just amazes me that so many different opinions can be formed from one specific set of facts. And then the jury have to sit down in camera and re present  the case to each other in order to at least reach a majority verdict.     
   





 

[KKOB]

Yes Stoop..but why do you think that?..why don,t I think that?

Because we don't live in North Korea and we're each allowed to form our own opinion ?

[Scunner]

Also we have seen far too many weeping pleas for information about a lost child/partner/family member from people who did turn out to be the murderer. It is difficult to see a tearful plea at a police press conference without thinking "that's way over the top" or "what a performance, he/she deserves an Oscar".

It's because of these previous notorious incidents that genuine heartbroken folk not only have the trauma of a missing loved one, but a significant number of strangers pointing the finger directly at them. In truth, we have no idea how these people act in normal life - let alone how they might react in front of the World's press to ask if anyone can help them get information that might reunite them.

In the McCann case there are many possible explanations, and there has been a lot of information in the public domain so it is easy to make a decision as to what you think might have happened. But now we are learning that there is also a lot of information kept under wraps - so perhaps none of our theories are right.

[kevin3]

At the end of the day us lot on here are just another form of jury.