The disgrace of a Facebook rape defense
Lawyers don't always enjoy the finest of reputations.
Some are unquestionably sleazy. But perhaps you will find your own inventive adjective for a lawyer named Colin McCarraher.
Last week, Mr. McCarraher defended a man called Anthony Francis in Reading, England. Mr Francis was this year stopped on another matter and then subsequently charged with raping a 19-year-old woman in 2001 after police managed to match his DNA sample with that of her attacker.
Mr. McCarraher defended his client by revealing his ingenious trump card- the victim's Facebook page.
On that page was a picture of her at a fancy dress party. She was smiling.
Here are some of the lawyer's touching words in describing the victim: "What we have is a person who has post traumatic stress but is quite capable of going out and having a good time at a fancy dress party."
Perhaps you might decide that what we really have is a lawyer who might deserve to be sent to a facility where the only parties are fancy undress.
Mr. McCarraher's supposedly devastating revelation suggested, at least in his eyes, that the victim suffered little trauma. However, he also admitted that he had no idea when the picture had actually been taken. He simply declared that the images were inconsistent with someone struggling to rebuild her life.
A peculiar argument, given that the victim, having been a perfectly happy woman before the alleged rape, had tried to commit suicide in 2003. In fact, it is only in the last year that she has managed to find some way to move her life to a more positive footing.
Still, what did that matter when compared to the smiling picture on her Facebook page?
Those in positions of authority have come to believe that one of the best ways to discover incriminating evidence about other people is to sneak off to their Facebook profiles.
They draw rich conclusions from the pictures they see or the words they read. Then they try and use those conclusions to damn those who choose (sometimes, perhaps, unwisely) to make a small part of their lives public.
In this case, Mr. McCarraher's lazy and sickening ingenuity failed to impress the judge. Mr. Francis was sentenced to five and a half years in jail.
After his sterling and noble work on behalf of his client Mr. McCarraher has, strangely, refused to make public comment.
Perhaps he has already sold the full story of his genius to a national newspaper or a Hollywood producer.
Or perhaps he's just suffering post-traumatic stress after such a difficult trial.
Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET.
i was raped many years ago after being molested (violently i might add) when i was a teenager - I have had post traumatic stress disorder and im now a grown adult - i didn't even know i had it until last year, when I finally had a nervous breakdown from being bullied for six yrs in my job - I had PTSD for nearly 20yrs... It is only now that I am getting the appropriate treatment for my condition that i have any sense of normalicy in my life - but it will never take away the pain, shame and trauma of all that i have experienced... for over 20yrs - I hid how i was really feeling - not only from my friends and family, but myself as well.... and though i cried many tears and had panic attacks, and the fear would not go away, I still went out and occassionally I laughed - does that mean my experience is any less because i did that or the fact i still have ptsd 20 years on???
I hope this lawyer is struck from whatever register he belongs too - he should never be able to practice law ever again... I hope the victim is able to get compensation as well from this inhumane person - she will never be the same ever again....
This lawyer did not give a good defense - if a good defense means marring a victim when she has already been violated in a most brutal way - is disgusting to say the least. Their would have been more than just DNA evidence - physical evidence such as bruising to the genitals, and other body parts together with the DNA evidence would have convicted this criminal - and not just based on the credibility of either party. I think zeocrash has completely misunderstood the legal system, not i.
This is the kind of defense that will make the criminal look even colder and ruthless. "Members of the Jury, rape ain't so bad, look at her smiling in that picture". I am sure the jury just wished looks could kill at that moment. I presume this was done during the sentencing phase of the trial, since the lawyer's statement would presume the defendant is guilty. If so, imagine when the victim makes her statement regarding the impact (i am sure the suicide attempt was brought up).
Even the Brian Nichols' defense, which is a desperate ploy at best, makes more sense than this. (Brian Nichols will lose, it's just a question of how long his lawyers can stall the verdict and sentencing now.)
It was the lawyers OBLIGATION to see to his client's well-being in any way legally possible. The lawyer was simply doing his job and following the law. Whether or not the lawyer actually feels sympathy for the victim is NONE OF OUR BUSINESS and entirely irrelevant in court. I don't even think that this is a story worth telling, and CNET, while usually being one of my favorite e-publications, just lost a few points in my book.
Illegal? I don't think that's what this article is about.
I'm glad to see a scumbag rapist was paired with an even scummier, incompetent moron of a lawyer...it makes me feel justice was served.
I think your first paragraph gets to the heart of the matter. This was a lawyer claiming it really wasn't so bad, because the woman could go to parties.
Chris
DNA evidence itself does NOT prove that the crime of rape has been committed. It merely supports the fact that a sexual act has taken place. It is important that all surrounding circumstances are also taken into consideration.
The reason the British legal system is considered to be the fairest in the world is because all defendant's are entitled to representation, a fair trial and are considered innocent until proven otherwise. Without hearing all the evidence it would be naive to even attempt to draw a conclusion from this article alone.
Rape is a vile and cowardly crime committed by the worst society has to offer. It is only correct that persons guilty of it are brought to justice and punished accordingly. It is equally important though, to ensure that those wrongfully accused are given the opportunity to prove their innocence.
However distasteful or unethical the methods were, the lawyer was merely carrying out a role. The outcome was, that his client was found guilty and sent to prison. However outrageous his methods were, it might well be that his "performance" on behalf of his client actually assisted the jury in reaching their verdict.
Seems a bit short for ruining someone's life, doesn't it?
She's spent more years waiting for justice than he'll actually get in jail. But hopefully he'll learn what rape is all about, now.
Here here.
This girl might have been depressed because she knew she did something wrong and made it worse by blaming some guy she had sex with after a party. Who knows? What is important is that every person is given a fair trial. I can only trust that is what happened in this case.
we can only hope when we need it, our lawyers are the most vicious (law-abiding) sharks as they can be.
i mean how many rapes have been total lies? (not saying this could be the case) but.. i don't know why people are freaking out.. lawyers do this.. its their job.
Doesn't matter if they're factually guilty to begin with.
Personal feelings and understood concern for all rape victims aside (I myself am personally aware and horribly shocked at how often rape occurs and it's psychological implications, especially to young teenagers);
This article presents an interesting precedent of the inclusion of digital material to prove one's state of mind.
Certainly, one picture, or even a small set of pictures would not be anywhere near enough evidence to show a common pattern. However, with enough data along a long period of time, say a long set of pictures taken weekly of happy events and smiling persons, it could be a strong defense in this case, to show that the person was happily living their life, with no apparent long term psychological problems. This would not be enough to totally absolve the case in favor of the defendant, but it would force the prosecution into a much harder position. One that would require equally extensive testimony to prove the instability of the witness, which is usually very hard to obtain because of the reclusion of rape victims, and is also considered hearsay.
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by Dr_Zinj
October 16, 2008 7:22 AM PDT
- All DNA evidence, based on *****, shows is that the person had a sexual encounter. It does not show whether it was consensual or not.
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See all 27 Comments >>The state of the alleged victim's clothing, their emotional state immediately following the alleged attack, the nature of the relationship between the alleged attacker and victim are all important evidence. Short of having a good witness with a camera catching the event on film, there's not much else to go by.
Frankly, the defense attorney was grasping at straws at that point, and doing a poor job of it if he? wasn't able to show a date-time relationship between the photo and the alleged attack.
Rape is a felony. Traditionally, felonies were crimes that required the death penalty on conviction. I certainly wouldn't want to hang a man unless I were 100% certain of his guilt. Prison makes a semi-adequate alternative. What I would like to see is not 'just' mandaory sentencing limits, but a requirement for successful rehabiitation before release. 5 years in prison, with treatment that induces the feelings the victim experienced in the convict, compensation to the victim for all costs of her therapy and rehabilitation, and no release until the convict has been reconditioned to never commit the crime again.