Lol, I like how you hold @ChrisV responsible for all of Australia.
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Well I think the Court were correct to overturn the conviction, so I guess I can answer for Australia’s deeds here 
The prosecution’s case had some issues. On the day on which the abuse was supposed to have occurred, the church was very busy and the prosecution’s timeline ended up arguing that the abuse was conducted in a 5 to 6 minute window, in the middle of a full church. The accuser testified that Pell parted his robes to expose himself, but multiple people testified that this was not possible with the ceremonial robes he was wearing that day. Likely the victim got the day of the abuse wrong or something, but when the only evidence you’re presenting is accuser testimony and that testimony seems inconsistent with known facts, it’s just obviously wrong to say that there’s no reasonable doubt Pell is guilty, regardless of how sympathetic you find the victim.
What, there isn’t a “lifetime achievement in pedophilia” clause in the Australian constitution?
Seriously, the guy is obviously a complete monster and the absolute last people who should be saved by due process are church assholes who abused institutional power for decades.
The nature of a functioning rule of law is that you get results you don’t like. I can’t say “just ignore it if you don’t like the results, that’s what we do, what could go wrong, love USA#1” is very convincing.
Edit: This is not really some technicality reasonable doubt either, like I have actual doubt Pell committed these crimes. I think it’s likely he did, but I wouldn’t stake everything I own on it.
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ChrisV’s current responsibilities: all things Straya, fact-checking (as the self proclaimed master of internet research), Chrome spellcheck annoyances
It really is amazing some of the talented people that have graced that website. Even in a tiny corner like hockey there was a burgeoning intelligentsia. Sunny Mehta was Dir Analytics for the Devils at one point.
From the High Court’s judgement on the Pell case:
The unchallenged evidence of the opportunity witnesses was inconsistent with the complainant’s account, and described: (i) the applicant’s practice of greeting congregants on or near the Cathedral steps after Sunday solemn Mass; (ii) the established and historical Catholic church practice that required that the applicant, as an archbishop, always be accompanied when robed in the Cathedral; and (iii) the continuous traffic in and out of the priests’ sacristy for ten to 15 minutes after the conclusion of the procession that ended Sunday solemn Mass.
The Court held that, on the assumption that the jury had assessed the complainant’s evidence as thoroughly credible and reliable, the evidence of the opportunity witnesses nonetheless required the jury, acting rationally, to have entertained a reasonable doubt as to the applicant’s guilt in relation to the offences involved in both alleged incidents.
With respect to each of the applicant’s convictions, there was, consistently with the words the Court used in Chidiac v The Queen (1991) 171 CLR 432 at 444 and M v The Queen (1994) 181 CLR 487 at 494, “a significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted because the evidence did not establish guilt to the requisite standard of proof”.
That is, even under the assumption that the jury considered the accuser to be extremely credible, nonetheless the testimony of other witnesses is such that doubt has to be created as to whether the offences happened. The testimony of other witnesses was that the accuser’s story could not have happened as described, and this testimony was not challenged by the prosecution.
Other accusers of Pell have come forward in the last week or so, it seems pretty likely that he’s guilty, nonetheless it’s hard to argue with the Court’s judgement.
I assume there is nothing preventing prosecutors from going after him on any of these newer allegations and that they’re eager to do so if reasonable.
Yeah, maybe. At least one of the new accusers made a sworn statement to Victoria Police back in 2016 but was psychologically unwilling to proceed to trial at that point. Victoria DPP decided not to proceed to trial with anything other than the counts from the two Melbourne boys, the charges for which Pell’s conviction has just been overturned. They could probably change their minds. It’ll probably be similarly difficult to prove the charges though.
It’s way safer in jail where you don’t have to worry about poisonous snakes or spiders or wombats all the time.
There were like 5 basketball regs that went on to work in NBA analytic departments too, also a poster who is a big shot player development kind of guy for a MLB team.
This video gives me a good sense of how my wife must see things when I am having too many beers.
That dog does not like being thwarted.
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Linda Tripp is nearing death, according to the tabloids. No mention of the 'rona.
first I laughed at this twitter thread.
https://twitter.com/maenads_dance/status/1247721742472228864?s=20
Then someone found the listing and I saw the rest of the house and it’s even worse:
http://m.bhhsinrealty.com/Mobile/Listing/AdditionalImages.aspx?listing=294251819
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