Guilty until proven innocent
Nice to see the media and police has learned from the Matthew Kelly affair.
Jonathan King was kept anonymous until he was convicted, why should Chris Langham be given the naming and shaming treatment when he hasn't been found guilty of anything yet?
It was the same with Craig Charles when he was accused of rape. He was branded as a rapist until the not guilty verdict but his name is still tarnished now. I remember when he made his statement outside of court, it was at least 10 years ago. He argued that as the claimant was kept anonymous for their protection, the defendant should be entitled to the same treatment.
And then there's the John Leslie fiasco. An old slapper makes up a rape story* to sell a few books and the media falls for it hook, line and sinker.
I just hope that Chris Langham is given the fair trial he deserves as a British citizen (after all, if he was foreign we'd just let him go already) and if he is found innocent this doesn't tarnish his name for the rest of his life.
*Despite being encouraged to by the police, Ulrikka Johnsson has never made a formal statement about her aledged assault. Her only references to it have been in her book and in a documentary promoting her book. It makes you wonder what she did to Stan Collymore to make him go so mental**
** Pyloank does not endorse actual bodily harm.
posted by Phill @ 8:17 pm
4 comments
4 Comments:
It is one of the perils of celebrity and seems to fly in face of various Acts regarding contempt of court and ensuring that people get a fair trial. Is it fair or right? No. Can it be stopped? Probably not - no one ever seems to get pulled up for it.
well i've known chris langham for over 30 years and i don't believe a word of it. must be some kind of daft mistake. chris is hyper-sensitive, very intelligent, mad as a snake, but also loyal and good. it really makes no sense to me at all there's no way he'd indulge in this kind of stuff. i just don't see it!
i do hope he's able to cope with all of this. he probably will and, indeed, rise above it by converting the whole ghastly experience into a brilliant new foil for his wit.
i wish him all the very best.
grouchyo (alias robert lee)
I think the law could spend a bit less time protecting the human rights of convicted criminals and focus a bit more on the rights of alleged ones instead.
But this would seem to be one bandwagon that the government doesn't want to jump on.
Regardless of the outcome there will now always be a stain against his reputation, I too wish Chris Langham all the best for both the immediate and more distant future.
This is something that has been concerning me as well. I've blogged about it and been linked by a support site that works on these cases. The way the media reports this and how the police deal with it have led to massive miscarriages of justice in the past and for want of a better cliche, mud sticks.
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