Guilty until proven innocent

Guilty until proven innocent
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By Howard Brereton - Typically Spanish Editor - Dec 1, 2009 - 3:38 PM
A 24 year old man on Tenerife has been falsely accused of child rape and abuse

The funeral in Parla on Tuesday for three year old Aitana - EFE

The unfolding story of the death of Aitana, a three year old girl on Tenerife, is the talking point of the news in Spain.
A letter published by El País today, written by a José Manuel Asensio Villar from Leganés, Madrid, speaks for most of us when he says that when he saw the handcuffed images of the 24 year old man, Diego Pastrana Vieco, on television, he immediately condemned him for the horrific allegations; that he had raped and abused the infant. The writer of the letter says that no doubt the police, doctors, and media can justify their responses to the story, but says that he is simply ashamed for having erroneously condemned a man who was thankfully saved by the autopsy results and proven to be innocent.

The hungry needs of a 24 hour news media for headline stories no doubt played a part in how the tragedy was covered across the board, including on this page, but surely questions have to be asked about how such allegations were made in the first place. That presumably has to be dealt with by the health authority concerned, although they have already issued denials they did anything wrong in the case.

I wonder what would have happened if the three year old had recovered from her injuries which we now know were caused by an earlier fall from a swing. The clarity of the autopsy may have been missed in such circumstances, and one can only imagine what would have happened to Diego had he been sent to prison, even on remand.

The reality is that in today’s media world very often a parallel trial takes place, and with the judiciary as slow as it is, most people have decided on many a case even before the case is heard in court and the evidence properly presented.

This tragedy should serve as a wake up call to the media, and we who work in it must always remember ‘innocent until proven guilty’, despite the strength of any first impressions or early evidence on hand.

Our condolences go to the family, to the mother who has tragically lost her child, and to the step-father who now has to deal with his own trauma. Thankfully there were many messages of support for Diego witnessed at the funeral in Parla, Madrid for the infant on Tuesday.

I hope the media now leave him alone as he deals with his grief and tries to get his life back together, but my guess is that the cheque books are out already for his side of the story.

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