Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher Reacts To Casey Anthony Verdict With Radio Host BC Thomas

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by Frances Martel | 7:17 pm, July 5th, 2011

» 17 comments

As a nation sat agape at Casey Anthony being found not guilty of killing her young daughter Caylee, many in the media who had no public doubt of her guilt railed against the jury. But as Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher explained to host BC Thomas on WBGN’s The Sports Guys, the legal burden of proof for murder is far higher than the standards required of responsible journalism.

Christopher visited The Sports Guys to give his immediate reaction within the hour of the verdict, and admitted that upon first look, it did “remind me a lot of the OJ trial.” He explained that while he understood “there’s a compelling circumstantial case against [Anthony],” what many who are outraged by the verdict don’t understand is that the burden of proof is “beyond a reasonable doubt,” and that should any such doubt arise, the jury could not reasonably convict her. While the media could speculate that there was evidence against her and give their opinions on that, Christopher argued, an opinion and a verdict require different levels of certainty. “You can print things that are fine to say,” he noted, “or say them on TV,” as there was a significant difference between what is responsible journalism and justice.

Thomas agreed, emphasizing the idea that it’s better for “a murderer to walk the streets free than an innocent person to be behind bars,” but could see how “the whole idea doesn’t play out with the general public,” particularly given the reporting of Nancy Grace and others who rarely take the side of the defendant when reporting on legal stories. “Very rarely do you turn on Nancy Grace and hear her say, ‘she’s innocent.’” Christopher agreed that the media’s takes on these issues seem to make it more difficult for the public to fully understand that “even a guilty person has rights,” though went on to defend the media for concluding what they did with the evidence they had, once again highlighting the differences between the journalist’s burden of proof and the jury’s.

Ultimately, Thomas and Christopher agreed that the media and entertainment worlds would do a great service to educate the public more on how criminal procedure works, though settling against blaming the media entirely for the outrage. The full conversation via WBGN 1340 below:

BC Thomas, Casey Anthony, Casey Anthony Trial, Nancy Grace, Talk Radio, Tommy Christopher

http://justplaythegame.us JustPlayTheGame

I am really surprised the MEDIA didn’t get this girl hung.. Although she had to be guilty in something, fortunately our system still works and you must have proof “without doubt” on guilty. Blame the Media and the Police for not doing their jobs..one should have been silent and one should have found proof.

Being found not guilty does not mean a person is innocent.
The Jurors did their job as presented.. good for America..
BatBoy

differences between the journalist’s burden of proof and the jury’s

…………Tommy, the journalist burden of proof has more to do with a deadline then it does facts.

“Thomas and Christopher agreed that the media and entertainment worlds would do a great service to educate the public more on how criminal procedure works,”

…………Who is going to educate the media?
Fokker News

BatBoy said:
Who is going to educate the media?

Who is going to educate you? What makes you think you are qualified to pass judgement on those in the media? Should people who spend their days in comment sections be participating in any decision making within our society?
http://justplaythegame.us JustPlayTheGame

Fokker News said:
Who is going to educate you? What makes you think you are qualified to pass judgement on those in the media? Should people who spend their days in comment sections be participating in any decision making within our society?

Well, that sure shows what you think about your own opinions..
teccec

Fokker News said:
Who is going to educate you? What makes you think you are qualified to pass judgement on those in the media? Should people who spend their days in comment sections be participating in any decision making within our society?

Wow, not elitist are you? How ’bout we set up a Politburo with cronies of people YOU support? America, at its core, is a country based on its values of freedom and fairness. You don’t have to have a PHD in chemical engineering to have a better opinion on what is freedom and what is fairness. Even a drugged out Spicoli teenage stoner can, at times, understand the difference between right and wrong. If ever our society is ran by closed minded individuals who don’t search for answers because they believe they’ve already been educated to have the answers, or because their daddy or mommy were rich and therefore what any lesser person thinks doesn’t matter is the day we die as a country.
http://www.swissarmyjew.com Keeva

Question to Tommy and the rest of Mediaite: Where is a story or even mention about ABC paying Casey Anthony $200,000 for photos and image exclusive right last year? Paying for it is a very big deal and ABC crossed a journalistic line there. So, where is the mention?
BatBoy

Fokker News said:
ho is going to educate you? What makes you think you are qualified to pass judgement on those in the media?

In the lefty profession are you?
http://justplaythegame.us JustPlayTheGame

Keeva said:
Question to Tommy and the rest of Mediaite: Where is a story or even mention about ABC paying Casey Anthony $200,000 for photos and image exclusive right last year? Paying for it is a very big deal and ABC crossed a journalistic line there. So, where is the mention?

Let’s not exclude the story on the money Nancy Grace has made for 3 years spewing hate and pushing for a trial..which made them lose…
Tedderman

Sadly, the American public is free to believe anything they want regardless the facts. Jumping to conclusions and judging people based on opinions is a sport today. With the jurys decision being rendered in this case, we see the results of the preconceived beliefs. The American public is angry, but don’t look for there to be any riots or overturned cars in downtown Orlando. The worst thing that will happen is two women from the midwest will get in an argument at the concession stand at Sea World.
X-3

I was not surprised to learn she was acquitted. In fact, I predicted she would be. Why? The prosecution did not make its case. If a murderer is running loose now it’s because the prosecution was inept.
beatabab

believing that we have something for you. Please be assured your choice

=== {{w w w }} {{be tter whole saler }} {{ u s }} ====

- — (w w w ).( jordan forworld ). (c o m ) —
Pablo

X-3 said:
I was not surprised to learn she was acquitted. In fact, I predicted she would be. Why? The prosecution did not make its case. If a murderer is running loose now it’s because the prosecution was inept.

Yes, this. Well, that and the fact that their evidence sucked.
Cecelia

JustPlayTheGame said:
Being found not guilty does not mean a person is innocent.
The Jurors did their job as presented.. good for America..

Well said,

And even if you don’t think that the jurors showed any commonsense at all, have some respect for the process and the system.
Tedderman

Heard in court as the verdict was read, “if the trunk smells like shit, you must aquit.”
CAconservative

What part reminded him of the O.J. trial? There’s nothing about this trial that is like the O.J. trial. The venue was correct, and the jurors were objective, unlike the O.J. trial. About the only thing that could be remotely looked at as being the same, was the obvious incompetence of the judge.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Kennedy/1439463341 Bruce

JustPlayTheGame said:
I am really surprised the MEDIA didn’t get this girl hung.. Although she had to be guilty in something, fortunately our system still works and you must have proof “without doubt” on guilty. Blame the Media and the Police for not doing their jobs..one should have been silent and one should have found proof.

Being found not guilty does not mean a person is innocent.
The Jurors did their job as presented.. good for America..

I think this system, just like any other system that exists, or can be devised, has flaws. That doesn’t mean you abandon the system. I do believe the current system favors those with money over those without. I believe “Celebrity” status can influence certain outcomes. I do believe, like it or not, there are innocent people behind bars right now. I do believe this system fosters a “win at any cost” mentality. When I was in the Navy we did a lot of war gaming. If I learned one thing, I learned there was no perfect solution, to a problem. So your decisions were based on what you thought was the best solution. That did not stop you from trying to achieve a better solution, but made you realize that there would always be room for improvement. I believe our judicial system is the best in the world, but there is always room for improvement. We should always strive to make it better.
ednoall

Not another word on Casey Anthony — UNLESS its the story of how George buys a gun puts it in Caseys mouth, then Cindys, then himself . I dont want to see any interviews, see the movie, read the book if told by her it will never be true.. I’m open to hear from either legal team – Jose’s story if he was told the truth by his client would be worth being disbarred– I never want to see Casey again unless dead or back in trouble (definitely not porn she make me sick).. Jury you all need to remain silent – so pepole dont find out just how dumb you all really are.