[Peace-discuss] rape denialism on the left: a case study

[Robert Naiman]

I think that there is a crucial distinction to be made here.

When someone is accused of rape, that person is entitled to a legal
presumption of innocence, a fair trial, and every other legal right of a
criminal defendant. In terms of public comment, the person deserves
deference to those legal rights. So, yes, absolutely, "trial by media" is
wrong, as far as that is concerned.

However, the victim of a rape is also entitled to a presumption of
innocence. And that means that when people advocate for a defendant by
publicly attacking the victim, they cross a line. And it seems to me that
maintaining and enforcing this line is everyone's responsibility, just as
maintaining the right to a fair trial is everyone's responsibility.



On Tue, Nov 13, 2012 at 6:27 AM, Jenifer Cartwright <jencart13 at yahoo.com>wrote:

> I hope you research this thoroughly before you go to press (i e start
> blogging, tweeting, facebooking, etc etc. Innocent until proven guilty,
> etc... trial by media, etc...
>
> --- On *Mon, 11/12/12, Robert Naiman <naiman at justforeignpolicy.org>*wrote:
>
>
> From: Robert Naiman <naiman at justforeignpolicy.org>
>
> Subject: [Peace-discuss] rape denialism on the left: a case study
> To: "Peace-discuss List" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>, "SFcore" <
> sf-core at yahoogroups.com>, "sdas" <sdas-list at googlegroups.com>,
> "centraliljwj" <CentralILJwJ at yahoogroups.com>
> Date: Monday, November 12, 2012, 1:45 PM
>
> According to the News-Gazette, the next court date in the IMC rape
> case is November 20:
>
> Urbana man charged with sex assault
>
> http://www.news-gazette.com/news/courts-police-and-fire/2012-09-22/urbana-man-charged-sex-assault.html
>
> I heard a report that someone was trying to organize a "cheerleading
> squad" at the courthouse in support of the accused rapist.
>
> Can anyone tell me if there is any truth to this report?
>
> I'm writing an expose for a national progressive website on rape
> denialism on the left, and the IMC rape case is going to be my case
> study.
>
> If anyone would like to be interviewed for this article, please let me
> know.
>
> --
> Robert Naiman
> Policy Director
> Just Foreign Policy
> www.justforeignpolicy.org
> naiman at justforeignpolicy.org<http://mc/compose?to=naiman@justforeignpolicy.org>
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>


-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
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