One of the doubters' key thrusts is that Pell has been found guilty because he is such a high figure in the Catholic Church, and is being made to pay for its manifest sins, rather his own.To those commentators, let me ask one quick question: what would have been your reaction if Pell had been found innocent and, in my column, I had written, “Yeah well, I know this man, and I’ve looked at the trial transcripts, and I think he is guilty anyway.
How do you think that brave witness would have felt, to have a former prime minister basically saying he may well have been lying? What would the effect be on other sexual assault victims of all kinds, across all institutions? I contend the former prime ministers are setting a dangerous precedent in not putting victims first and note that at least the incumbent Prime Minister expressed empathy for the victims, not Pell, in his own remarks.
Peter_Fitz the end of the day,”Mud” sticks. He will never shake that.
Peter_Fitz Over the ages, not all trials by jury have delivered true justice, so how can you say this one is done and dusted when we haven’t even heard the appeal yet? I feel for victims of sexual abuse, but I wouldn’t want an innocent person to be the scapegoat.
Peter_Fitz Evidence? Hearsay is not evidence/
Peter_Fitz yes and that also happened in the Lindy Chamberlain case after she was found guilty...many people still supported her...and even after all her appeals failed...it was extraordinarily disrespectful to the jury....but it turns out they were right
Peter_Fitz
Peter_Fitz Just because the jury heard the evidence in court, doesn't necessarily mean they made the right decision. The evidence has been comprehensively reported. Each & every one of us can now form a view on whether the jury's findings are rational. Not only can form a view, but should!
Peter_Fitz Keep writing your column , last one spot on.
MayneReport Peter_Fitz The Roman Catholic Church wanted a Judge-Alone Trial for His Eminence Cardinal Dr George Pell = their Judge. (Judge-Alone Trials are not permitted in criminal proceedings in Victoria).
Peter_Fitz Im curious to know Pell's supporters guidelines for when we should and shouldn't respect verdicts of the justice system. Some examples of verdicts we should respect and verdicts we shouldn't respect would be helpful. auspol
Peter_Fitz The outcry is coming from believers in a system of ancient govt. and Canonical courts that have no place in modern oz. we must destroy the influence of these religious systems. All religious legal institutions (Anglican, Catholic, Sharia) must go and secular rule of law remain.
Peter_Fitz and from the lawyer who attended the trial there are some things the court ignored, what a disgrace.
Peter_Fitz Also obvious questions are should not such accusations be reported in reasonable time to maybe prevent further continuing offences I think we should have a statute of limitations to save the tax payer lots of money in pretend jobs trying to guess out what happened 20 yrs ago
Peter_Fitz It is disrespectful that there ARE doubters. There is enough wrong with our judicial system already without second guessing the jurors on this case.
Peter_Fitz Is the law an ass? Jurors have sent to prison n vice versa many people in the past They can easily get it wrong relying on a clever prosecutor or a weak defender to convince them Especially when there is no hard evidence of the crime
Peter_Fitz One victim killed himself, another is troubled with anxiety and fear, but George Pell gets all the leeway.
Peter_Fitz So much like Trump's constant cry of Fake News!
RichardYabsley Peter_Fitz Well that 's extraordinarily disrespectful to the jury in the first trial who decided 10-2 that he was innocent? Given the evidence was identical what changed in those months?
Peter_Fitz Guess it was 'extraordinarily disrespectful' to the members of the jury who heard the evidence against Lindy Chamberlain and convicted her. Hope you are being consistent and treat each jury verdict with the same admiration.
Peter_Fitz Of course jury verdicts should be respected, Pete, but it's no disrespect to our legal system to acknowledge they can get it wrong, or be inadequately/unfairly advised. We have an infamous precedent here at home. And when O.J was acquitted, were we all disrespectful to ask, WTF?
Peter_Fitz Emotionl argument. But why the secrecy. Was it rigged. Political show trial.
Peter_Fitz
Peter_Fitz Disrespecting people in the sense of saying uncomfortable things frankly is often necessary. I will go further: if the jury decision seems unsafe, it is our duty to point this out. Brennan, Craven, Paul Kelly: these are not ratbags. What will you say if at appeal... Pell
Peter_Fitz The last week has been extremely difficult for me not because I see myself as a victim but rather a survivor, but my heart break for those who have been hurt by ignorant people defending such vile behaviour..shameful
Peter_Fitz A character reference, written after a conviction such as this, in which the writer asserts that the prisoner is of good character is usually dismissed by a court as having been written by a person not of sound judgement.
Peter_Fitz Yes it is and yes they all are!
TerrySerio Peter_Fitz Pell is probably bribing judge big time to get his appeals through.
Peter_Fitz Yes. Exactly
correzpond Peter_Fitz don't they call this sort of thing 'contemptuous' ..? anyway..I hold the Parliament of enablers of this abuse..all but one Federally in decades..in utter contempt ..
Peter_Fitz Which jury is he referring to - the first or second?
Peter_Fitz Just stunned that certain people support Abusers.Look, if he can’t expose himself while in the robes...how the hell does he go to the toilet? for pity sake, these doubters are only on his side for two reasons...a) who is is b) they turn a blind eye to child abuse.
deniseshrivell Peter_Fitz Chuck in pathetic too to the list of adjectives
Peter_Fitz For God so loved the world that he sat back watching and did absolutely nothing while people raped children and women, and murdered in his name! For he looked upon it and said it was good! Entertainment, that is, and did sod all to help or protect anyone! Especially children!
deniseshrivell Peter_Fitz The latest excuse is that Pell didn’t have to come back I think probably his position at the Vatican had become untenable as the outcry became louder
Peter_Fitz One aspect of this I don’t get is the character references. What possible relevance do they have when trying to establish what happened in this case?
Peter_Fitz They're always 'Nice' until they are found out ...
Peter_Fitz The balance of probability would indicate he carries some guilt. You cannot have so much smoke, about abuse, without fire somewhere. Either he was involved or complicit in covering up.
popcoin3 Peter_Fitz It makes you think that the upper echelons of society are infested with paedophiles.
Gcampbell6 Peter_Fitz Yes it is And You should call our Johnny Howard
Peter_Fitz so they .should be. one persons word against another. no proof just a guess. First jury 10 out of 12 say not guilty..The verdict was always going to be guilty. Pedos should get death but proof should be shown and indisputable.
Peter_Fitz The jury's decision does not automatically deserve 'respect'. If it's a bad decision, why respect it? The evidence presented to the jury at trial has been made public - we are perfectly entitled to question whether the jury's decision was rational based on the evidence.
Peter_Fitz An appeal is pending. The media should shut up until the final legal verdict is cast.
Peter_Fitz George Pell is the victim of a terrible miscarriage of justice. He is a completely innocent man, whose only 'crime' was to hold traditional and conservative views which incited others to seek his utter destruction.
Peter_Fitz MeToo MeTooMVMT Victorian Police spent years building a case against Pell they could take to court, three times they were told it was not considered a strong enough case. Yet they told this woman to go away because it was her word against Bill Shorten
Peter_Fitz Sadly, Tony Abbott and John Howard’s continued support of PELL is disturbing. PELL was not convicted by the victims or media. PELL was convicted by a independent jury after hearing all the evidence. Victim blaming is a disgraceful act and only prolongs the pain & suffering.
Peter_Fitz It’s interesting how little you understand the law. The jury must convict beyond reasonable. The witnesses as I understand created reasonable doubt. There are many examples and yet he was convicted? That’s the problem Pirate Pete.
Peter_Fitz OMG Peter_Fitz, are you saying that the court system is infallible? That community attitudes don't affect outcomes? The logic of 'all priests are pedophiles therefore he must be a pedophile, and guilty'! That the appeals court, to oversea the puisne court, is not required?
pwwingman Peter_Fitz One doesn't get to Court on these charges without there being some substance to a major violation towards these young people, particularly given Pell's position. He obviously has offended and destroyed lives. Whether Pell survives the Appeal is neither here nor there.
FrostWolfLost Peter_Fitz well apparently Cardinal Pell was a good man - he played AFL, he got a classical education at Oxford- how on earth could this happen?
Peter_Fitz 1. The legal system in this country is bs a way before this case 2. It has been that way for quite some time. 3. Just ask all those family’s who have lost loved ones because some asshole magistrate has let a lunatic out on bail.
Peter_Fitz The Legal profession are BLIND to Bank crimes, so it is feasible that a QC missed something
Peter_Fitz I have to wonder about anyone who supports Pell, if they also hold paedophilic desires.
Peter_Fitz What ignorant bullshit- opinion or not - it’s plain wrong- just as if Pell was found not guilty the prosecution could appeal- dickhead Fitz should be made to put a disclaimer on the bottom of the article auspol
Peter_Fitz Hypocritical commentary from the media who constantly question judicial decisions
Peter_Fitz Those doubters should probably be looked at also... How can you proclaim to know someone so well, but yet not know that someone that well without knowing something? I really hate these people...
Peter_Fitz Lindy Chamberlin !
Peter_Fitz We know juries get it wrong. We also know that NSW, QLD and WA but not VIC have judge only trials to hear cases like Pell’s because of the prejudice that can be caused by negative media over time before the trial
Peter_Fitz Not only disrespectful they r causing survivors 2 feel suicidal. This has 2 stop
Peter_Fitz If Pell get off on appeal, we will know that the church are still running the country.
Peter_Fitz '...respecting the decisions reached by a jury of peers.' Hah, even if it is wrong? It's called a miscarriage of justice. If the defence testimony relies on one person's word, well that's not beyond reasonable doubt is it. After all, we've all got away with a lie haven't we.
Peter_Fitz And even more disrespectful to the victims that these hard right extremists angrily defend one of their own, a convicted child rapist...
Peter_Fitz But believing that the invisible man in the sky is all powerful yet allows children to be raped, not disrespectful.
Peter_Fitz Even if he’s innocent of this crime. He is guilty of a great deal more and needs to be in prison. He moved child rapists around their criminal church and limited compensation that can be claimed by victims. he a pig. let him rot in prison & i hope he get what he deserves
Peter_Fitz So why does our legal system allow for appeals? If a jury is as infallible as this one was, apparently ...
Peter_Fitz Pell supporters have now played their hand. They are advocates for a CONVICTED child rapist. Let them be judged by the company they keep.
Peter_Fitz Pell’s clearly got friends in high places. Cops, prosecutors, investigative journos think he had a case to answer. Judge/jury found him guilty.
Peter_Fitz They don't care Fitz, they're just concerned that a powerful male ally is actually being held to account. It has unsettled their sense of status and the security it has afforded them.
Peter_Fitz Well said! Peter_Fitz
Peter_Fitz Even Pell's own defence barrister said in court (not an 'admission' in legal terms but an admission in the everyday use of language) that Pell raped & abused these boys. Anyone who still supports Pell is supporting paedophiles & the rape & abuse of children.
Peter_Fitz Oh Please , Quote anyone else than Rag Head on anything Catholic ! The moron is anti everything that mainstream Australia respects !
Peter_Fitz Justice trumps respect.
Peter_Fitz So you get 12 people ,which have had media bias against Pell thrown down their throats for 30 years and expect them to come up with a judgement that isn’t biased
Peter_Fitz Jury’s are usually made up of suburbia slobs and morons who wouldn’t survive if Darwinism was in place. Often poorly educated and simpletons. This is why barristers choose the jury’s they choose - so they can manipulate the verdict they want out of these simpletons on the jury.
Peter_Fitz I am not defending George Pell...I dont even know the evidence against him - but what are you saying? The courts never get it wrong ever? Are the courts an infallible judicial system that will always get it right?
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