Innocent Until Proven Guilty Analysis Essay Example

The lack of these two qualities suggests that some journalists have created articles without ethical reasoning. The failure of the journalists to sufficiently research these issues has led to the general public presuming the guilt of the players involved in the alleged incident.

In our country’s law system, we are protected by a presumption of innocence until proven guilty (Legal Services Commission of South Australia, n. d). It appears the media has successfully persuaded the perceptions of the players involved without considering some of the core ethical principals, such as ‘do not cause unnecessary suffering’ and ‘obey just laws’ (Topic 4 Lecture Slides, n. d).

By creating news stories suggesting the guilt of these players when there have yet to be any charges laid, despite the sexual assault examination being completed on the woman that night (that’s if the newspaper has got that fact right!) , it is causing unnecessary suffering to not only the players, but their club. This is because they will always be the players who got accused of raping a girl, even if they are found to be innocent. Most will remember when several Bulldogs players were accused of rape. Despite no charges being laid, the association with the club still lives on today. As previously mentioned, the presumption of innocence is one that lives on in court and should live on in society.The media, while being a wonderful tool for communication of very important news to the community, can also be used to portray certain people or situations in many different ways.

In the case of the alleged incident between a girl and three (or is it four? ) Broncos players, I believe

that these players have been unfairly represented when the true facts of the case are yet to be un-earthed, in order to get an exciting headline. Perhaps the girl made a poor decision and regretted it, so decided to cry foul, or maybe the Broncos players did force the girl into the men’s toilets with them.This is all hear-say and propaganda and the FACT is, unless you are the alleged victim or one of the players, it is hard to say without doubt that the players are guilty or innocent. So, for now, until the results of the police investigation are released, I am going to presume the players innocent and reserve any judgement until I know the facts.

References

1. Courier Mail, 2008, Three Broncos players in alleged sex assault at nightclub, viewed 21st Oct 2008, < http://www. news.com. au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24344295-952,00. html>
2. Koch, D, 2008, Broncos quartet facing axe, viewed 21st Oct 2008, <http://www. oxsports. com.au/story/0,8659,24352181-23214,00. html>
3. Legal Services Commission of South Australia, n. d, General Priniciples in Criminal Law, viewed 21st Oct 2008, < http://www. lawhandbook. sa.gov. au/ch10s02. php>
4. Lutton, P, 2008, Broncos players investigated over sexual assault, viewed 21st Oct 2008, < http://www. leaguehq. com. au/news/news/broncos-players-investigated-over-sexual-assault/2008/09/15/1221330693404.html>
5. Thiroux, J & Krasemann, K, 2007, Ethics Theory and Practice, 9th edn, Pearson Education, New Jersey.