Jian Ghomeshi: Guilty or Innocent?

[peter12]

He hasn't really had any "buts" yet.

[East Coast Flame]

The guy's a creep, and I think he probably is guilty...but I don't think the prosecution did enough to put him away

[llwhiteoutll]

Originally Posted by East Coast Flame

The guy's a creep, and I think he probably is guilty...but I don't think the prosecution did enough to put him away

I don't think the prosecution is at fault here. They basically had to try the whole case at a disadvantage because their own complainants were involved in a conspiracy and misleading them.

[troutman]

should make the court proceed with caution,

First hint of a "but"?

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

I don't think the prosecution is at fault here. They basically had to try the whole case at a disadvantage because their own complainants were involved in a conspiracy and misleading them.

Aren't they the ones that assessed them and their ability to be credible witness?

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Hard to see how this turns around into a guilty verdict at this point, so yeah, looks like he's off.

[llwhiteoutll]

Originally Posted by Bagor

Aren't they the ones that assessed them and their ability to be credible witness?

True, but the complainants then admitted that they misled investigators when giving statements. Unless you do the same kind of digging that the defense would do, it might not be easy to uncover.

Imagine the outrage that people would have claimed to feel if the Crown shredded the complainants backgrounds. You'd have people all over the news complaining about revictimization.

[troutman]

This is something many members of the public emailed me about

What? Should Judges be accepting emails about a trial while deliberating?

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

I think that's the blogger talking.

Judge says reasonable doubt exists. Ghomeshi's out of the woods.

[llwhiteoutll]

Not guilty on all charges. Just announced.

Court left with reasonable doubt, no tangible evidence, evidence tainted by outright deception.

[troutman]

Ghomeshi is found not guilty on all charges.

His mother and family and sister are hugging one another.

[Mike F]

"Judge - reasonable doubt doesn't mean that the acts didn't happen."

So not proven innocent

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

Well, I chose innocent but it really should be not guilty. He is far from innocent but I don't think the crown did an adequate job and he will get off (heh).

This.

I personally think he is guilty but it was a really difficult case to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. I hope at the very least that it brings awareness to the issue and women are compelled to come forward sooner.

[Mike F]

Unfortunately I'm going to guess that the take of many will be "If you're a man with a high priced lawyer you can get away with anything" instead of "If you're not forthright and honest with all of the facts, you'll undermine your credibility."

[mrkajz44]

This seems to the Judge's executive summary:

Their [The Crown's] evidence was "tainted by outright deception" and once that happens that witness cannot "have sufficient faith" in the complainants and their truth.

[Muffins]

This is the first thing that came to mind when reading the thread title....

[OMG!WTF!]

He's not really free and clear. He's out millions, ruined career, reputation and easily the most punchable face in Canada.

[Dan02]

Probably guilty as but the witnesses sewered their own testimony and probably doesn't equal guilty so he walks.

[Coach]

Well, the best we can really hope for is that this whole ordeal prevents Ghomeshi from doing similar things in the future and that he gets written consent from women before he starts participating in S&M.

There's no doubt in my mind he did what he's accused of, but you can't ignore the withholding of truth. Too bad, if they had just told the full truth from the beginning, it would likely be going the other way.

[burn_this_city]

Not guilty in the eyes of the justice system, but guilty in the eyes of the public. His career is still over in my opinion.