Most liked posts in thread: Mason Greenwood - a disgrace

The thing that annoyed me most about the social media reaction (and even some people on this thread) is that one of the few statements we got from anyone connected to the situation was from her dad who outright claimed she didn't make the post and was hacked. That statement alone should have at least given people a cause to take a step back and at least question the supposed evidence but it largely gets ignored.

I would imagine most of us have photos on our phones of injuries we have picked up after all its often easier to see them by taking a photo than trying to twist our bodies into positions to be able to see them or even see them in a mirror and if we were hacked someone without context could publish them and present them as something. The bust-lip one is the one that certainly left me to have questions, I've been to a number of cons so have been around cosplayers and there is a stage makeup feel to it as if maybe the video is actually of her getting ready for a Halloween party of similar. When you have things like this and audio intentionally edited to look bad but not actually show a crime and someone close to her saying she was hacked it should have people saying 'I don't have enough evidence and can't verify what I do have to make a judgement' but rather everyone is eager to pick a side.

I actually said on Twitter to someone who was ranting about how the evidence was clear that if Mason is guilty that it's people like that who have no doubt helped the case be dropped. It makes him getting a fair trial almost impossible because they have helped spread a narrative that prejudices people and that just raises the bar that the evidence has to clear. It's part of the reason why they try and keep these things secret u until they go to court, it's why we only heard about Mendy once it went to court, and why both the player who had the charges dropped and the one currently under investigation hasn't officially been named as they are hard enough cases to prove anyway without the internet making it even harder.


If he is guilty or not though it does show that clubs need to do a much better job in the education of their players. The audio may not show a crime but it does show him trying to pressure her into sex and no-one, be you male or female should be trying to pressure someone into having sex. And with the money and prestige that can come with football that leaves them even more prone to using the power dynamic that causes to use that power to get what they want and it needs the clubs to (and society in general) to be better at education people better so they know that isn't acceptable

 

I'm not sure it's the legal system that's really the fault for the low conviction rate. The problem is more that victims of domestic and/or sexual abuse usually don't come forward until well after it has happened and by that point, any physical evidence has been lost so you are then relying on people's word and maybe evidence that is hard to verify which in a criminal case where it has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt is a problem. The only way you can get convictions higher is for people to report it immediately because you can't just 'believe the victim' and convict on that because that's massively dangerous and open to abuse.

On the whole Prince Andrew thing people need to realise that he was facing a Civil not a criminal case. That doesn't require the accuser to prove a crime was committed. In the UK it just requires the accuser to be able to present a strong enough argument that it's more likely to be true than false but in the US it's more weighted to the accused to prove they didn't do it. In a civil case if there is a settlement on the table that you can afford your legal team will largely recommend you take it unless you have proof that absolutely proves you are innocent (Such as CCTV footage that shows you being halfway across the other world when it is said to have happened). In Prince Andrews's case it was even more weighted against him as she was granted a Jury trial (Civil cases more often than not are the judge's decision) and foreign nobility against an American was never going to play well with a Jury (and I'm not sure anyone would call Andrew charismatic so he wasn't going to win them over), especially against the backdrop of the criminal cases again Epstein and Maxwell. It would have been different if it was a criminal case and he had reached an out-of-court settlement, that would have been him using his money to avoid justice but anyone settling a civil case is just being smart in whats little more than a crapshoot

 

In his own ego?

 

Unfortunately, it would then have resulted in you appearing in court on assault charges. I found it difficult to understand why victims of domestic violence choose to retract their allegations. Are they really expecting things to get better over time?