This week, a suspect was arrested and charged in a murder investigation that, according to the media, "had sparked the interest of the entire nation."
I refer to the tragic murder of mother-of-three Allison Baden-Clay. This week, her husband was arrested on charges of murder.
I read the reaction across the social media scene with intense interest. Comments ranged from "I knew it was him all along" to "rot in jail you bastard" to "I hope they get him in jail". Now I know that this is a very hot topic and that there was a great deal of media interest from the moment that Allison was reported missing. Speculation was rife right from the beginning about her husband's involvement in her disappearance and it seemed like everyone had an opinion.
Me, I thought he might have been involved, but interestingly, when it was announced I did not feel any of the feelings vented above. In fact, when I began to read the impassioned comments made, I found myself not taking his side, but at least empathising with him.
Our justice system is based on the premise of innocent until proven guilty. Most of the people who made these statements have immediately written him off as guilty purely because he has been arrested. I hope none of them are called up to serve on his jury, cos it would be a safe bet that they have already pronounced guilt on him and are ready for sentencing.
It's pretty fair to say that a lot of innocent people are arrested and charged in our legal system. It's one of the reasons I don't support capital punishment - after all, it's much harder to say "Sorry we got it wrong" to someone who was executed years ago for a crime that they didn't commit. And if you think that doesn't happen, try googling Timothy Evans - he was executed following trial for the murder of his wife, only for it to be discovered years later that she was the victim of infamous serial murderer John Christie. Ironically, Christie testified against Evans at his trial, which lead to Evans' hanging execution.
But I digress. I have no doubt that the police have done a thorough investigation and collected the evidence necessary to support a conviction. However until that verdict is found either by a judge or a jury of his peers, I'm happy to sit back and watch what rolls out. If he is found guilty, he will be jailed and will pay for his crime behind bars. If he is found not guilty (not innocent you'll notice, because he is actually innocent until proven otherwise), there will no doubt be many choruses of "he got out of it", but when push comes to shove, if they can't prove it, he can't be convicted.
Either way, his life has pretty much ended. Jail if guilty, but if not, how will he rebuild a shattered life that may result in up to two years of his life in incarceration before he even goes to trial. He will forever have the shadow of murder hanging over his head. People will continue to judge him as a murderer. Look at Lindy Chamberlain, I'm sure there are plenty of people who still secretly believe she was involved in her daughter's death. It doesn't matter that a coroner has finally identified a dingo as the culprit, that cloud will always hang over her in some people's minds.
Until the evidence has been presented and the trial is complete, I'll reserve my verdict. It's what I'd hope people would do for me if I ever found myself in the same situation.