At last something else to make the news other than that blasted coronavirus, which is giving me the pips. Finally, the High Court of Australia has quashed Cardinal Pell’s previous conviction for allegedly sexually abusing two teenage choirboys. The High court did not engage in high theory, but went back to look at the evidence. Was it reasonable to suppose that the accused could abuse two boys, while he was fully robed, in a matter of minutes? No, it was held.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8194467/How-Cardinal-George-Pells-heavy-robes-helped-clear-sexually-abusing-two-teen-choirboys.html?ito=push-notification&ci=12410&si=1326534
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/george-pell-verdict-victorian-justice-system-is-the-biggest-loser-as-convictions-quashed/news-story/a3744bd98fff6d973250dc36a6cbc671
“The High Court’s 44-page unanimous judgment amounts to a primer for the judiciary, particularly in Victoria, on how criminal justice is supposed to work. That primer was needed: if an innocent man can be jailed without a proper basis in law, nobody is safe. The pain for Victoria does not end there. Pell’s tormentors in the media will need to re-examine the way they engaged in years of character assassination that has left them looking foolish. The state government cannot escape the fallout. Victoria should join NSW by allowing high-profile criminal matters to be heard by a judge alone — without the assistance of a potentially biased jury. The worst aspect of this case is that Victorian legislation meant the Pell jury was denied the full story about the man who claimed to have been assaulted by the cardinal. Relevant evidence about the complainant was kept from the jury by virtue of legislation that was put in place with the clear intention of protecting those who claim to be victims of sexual assault. The Pell jury was never told that the complainant had a history of psychological problems that required treatment. Nor were they told that Pell’s legal team was rebuffed in court — in the absence of the jury — when they attempted to gain access to records showing the extent of this man’s psychological problems.
