notes to (future) self

nedhepburn asked: the greg kelly thing bothers me if only for the fact that there's no evidence (yet). i dunno, man. innocent until proven guilty. 'rape' is a terrible thing to throw around without any evidence. i'm not saying whether he did or didn't i'm just saying there are people out there who try to extort other people with smear tactics and that a person deserves a fair trial before they're called a rapist, y'know?

The law that protects the accuser’s identity is problematic as it doesn’t allow the same protection for the accused, wholly nullifying the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty. Everyone should absolutely be given fair trials before we label them any kind of criminal.

But it’s also kind of messed up that there are media outlets trying to discredit his accuser from the get-go. Like yesterday, I read this thing on the Daily Beast by a former rape prosecutor. She basically said that the accuser was just angry that Greg Kelly lost in interest in her and that this was revenge. To support that, the former prosecutor used facts (some exposed by tabloids, no less) like flirtatious texts between the two and her three-month delayed report. In a case like this, a delayed report is pretty common, and just because the accuser may have been into the guy, doesn’t mean rape can’t occur. The more the media tries to discredit the allegation, the more people are going to dig, and eventually, the identity protection law will prove ineffective.

The biggest problem I have with this situation has little to do with the actual individuals involved, though. What really grinds my gears is that this is just another case that is contributing to the insecurity, distrust, and fear that many victims feel about reporting their rapes. If you have a former prosecutor assuming that someone’s just having a hissy fit and the former head DA of Manhattan’s sex crime unit expressing her skepticism, then what message does that send to rape victims? It’s a pretty bleak message. 

So while I agree that yes, Greg Kelly is entitled to a fair trial, his accuser is entitled to the same. This isn’t going to happen, though. There is no way that a trial involving the son of the NYPD Commissioner will be treated fairly. The head DA of the Manhattan sex crime unit is assigned to prosecute, and it seems that decision is less about helping a victim and more about making sure that Greg Kelly gets the VIP treatment. It’s the same reason that an officer shot in the line of duty gets the helicopter search for his shooter.