Let's talk ethics: Newspaper misreports charges, suspect kills self, newspaper slanders suspect

[Ming]

This isn't The Globe and Mail, it's The Toronto Star. Very, very different credibility and paper.

The Star is a regional paper (though they fancy themselves national, they're not) to Toronto. It's very, very left-leaning and is seen by many as to be an official arm of the Liberal party.

The Globe and Mail is a national paper, it's pretty much the centrist paper in Canada (National Post being the national right-wing paper).

Thanks for pointing that out. I feel better. I used to get the Globe and Mail every day when I did a lot of advertising in Canada. I just misread your post. Yes, the Star is a different story
However, this still goes beyond respectable journalism.

[notyoueither]

I'd feel differently if they identified the wrong person, but I don't know how fussed I am that they got the charges wrong.

There is something about that OpEd though. A little too judgemental, and a lot too little contrition.

[Asher]

The misreporting stuff isn't the end of the world, it happens.

It's the combination of the misreporting then the slam-job of the guy after he's dead that really irked me.

[notyoueither]

How much respect does a deceased kiddie-fiddler merit?

[Kontiki]

This isn't The Globe and Mail, it's The Toronto Star. Very, very different credibility and paper.

The Star is a regional paper (though they fancy themselves national, they're not) to Toronto. It's very, very left-leaning and is seen by many as to be an official arm of the Liberal party.

The Globe and Mail is a national paper, it's pretty much the centrist paper in Canada (National Post being the national right-wing paper).

To be somewhat fair, I don't think the Star fancies itself as a national paper at all, and I think their party leanings are considerably closer to the NDP than the Liberals (that's actually been the traditional bastion of the Globe).

****ty editorial, though, and not particularly surprising given the Star.

[Asher]

To be somewhat fair, I don't think the Star fancies itself as a national paper at all, and I think their party leanings are considerably closer to the NDP than the Liberals (that's actually been the traditional bastion of the Globe).

****ty editorial, though, and not particularly surprising given the Star.

In recent years they've rebranded themselves "The Star" (not "The Toronto Star") and when you visit their webpage you get an option for the "National Edition" or "Toronto Edition"...

[Solomwi]

It's not "true", he's never been convicted.

There's a reason papers need to refer to someone as a "suspect" in an "alleged" crime.

The truth defense to defamation doesn't require a conviction, and is subject to a lesser evidentiary standard than the criminal charge. Insert standard American vs. Canadian law disclaimer here.

That said, I'm with you on this being incredibly disgusting and douchey.

[Ben Kenobi]

Ugh, this is horrible. Again, regardless of whether he was guilty or not, the paper has a duty to report the facts, which is that he was accused of such and not proven guilty. I hope the family sues and takes the Star for whatever they can get!

[Asher]

There were some Letters to the Editor published today:

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/705823

In her column on the tragic death of David Dewees, Rosie DiManno suggests that the reason a columnist should be cautious in assuming an accused person's guilt is the threat of a libel claim. The moral responsibility to search for truth is apparently beside the point.

Consistent with such amorality, the column contains several appallingly cavalier inferences about the deceased's inner-most thoughts and feelings.

With such prevailing ethics at a prominent newspaper, perhaps it's time for Ontario to reconsider the law on libel against the dead, as other jurisdictions have done.
Edward Iacobucci, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto

This column has raised provocation to an art form. All that was missing was the call to action: "Lynch his family so the pedo gene doesn't get loose!"
Bryan Bonnici, Toronto

There are no winners in this story. A young man's life is gone, a gifted teacher is gone, the trust and security of some young boys is gone – on every front there is tragic loss. Accepting Ms DiManno's thesis that nothing can be done simply dooms us to repeating this tragedy in new locations, with a new cast of characters but the same result. We should be better than that or shame on all of us.
Sheila Ward, Toronto Public School Trustee

Lives lost. Jobs lost. Reputations ruined. This is the cost of the "public's right to know." Is this the same morbid "public" who slow down when they see a traffic accident on the highway? When a person is accused of a crime and is named, the damage has been done. It is human nature to assume that if the police have laid a charge, they must have evidence of guilt. This premise is not always true as victims or witnesses have been known to recant the facts. The accused have no recourse. They have been found guilty in the court of public opinion.
Warren Dalton, Scarborough

As the parent of a newborn, I am concerned about the possibility of predators and sexual deviants luring my child as he navigates the dangerous waters of urban life. I am more concerned, however, that he will be forced to live in a city where pitchforks and torches are raised at the first whisper of an indecent act, and where those who do the whispering attempt to justify their slander by invoking an ethical fallacy for the benefit of good copy.
Gabriel Resch, Toronto

[Qilue]

Doesn't Canada have some kind of law where the identity of an alleged perpetrator of a crime cannot be revealed by the media until that person is convicted in court?

[Asher]

No.

[RGBVideo]

holy ****

completely despicable

[Wezil]

"Invitation to sexual touching" still makes the guy a creep (possibly on his way to being a full fledged diddler).

[RGBVideo]

"Invitation to sexual touching" still makes the guy a creep

this is what makes it despicable

what the **** does a suspect to "invitation to sexual touching" mean? kid accidentally hit ballsack, found it funny and started yelling about it loudly? it could mean practically anything in our pc-society where scare of pedophilia when treating children has become hysterical

[Asher]

It was all online. He allegedly was emailing back and forth with a couple teenage boys where, at some point, an "invitation to sexual touching" was made.