French murders: Why do the authorities DO this?

[Tansie]

The latest has been reported that they're following a line of enquiry that the murders may have been committed by a family member over a money dispute.. but that 'this may have nothing to do with the murders'.. The BBC were quite specific about which family member they're wanting to interview and about what (they named him) BUT haven't any lessons been learned since that awful murder in Bristol where the landlord was vilified, shunned, spat upon etc?- til it was discovered a fellow tenant was responsible!

If the next bulletin announces that this bloke has been released without charge, his reputation will anyway be tarnished forever.

Even if is is the guilty party, what happened to the presumption of innocence?

Any news I have listened too I thought it had more to do with the fathers job, he worked for an aerial satellite company and as I watch too many episodes of 24 and Bourne movies

I agree with you its horrid, especially since as the girls uncle surely he would be a automatic consideration for custody if it all blows over, how daaging for everybody.

The case that changed my opinion of papers was that boy kidnapped in Pakistan, he father was villified and it was portrayed that he had set it up. All kinds of nasty snide things were published. A few days later it turned out his dad and been begging to borrowing money from friends and family, paid the ransom and got his son back himself, miles away from Pakistan, what more could you ask for fom a devoted father??

It's a high profile case and there's a clear public interest in reporting the details. Intelligent editors will resist the temptation to sensationalise and point fingers. The Leveson inquiry has yet to report so they have to watch their step. Only when someone has been charged does the press have to shut up about it or risk being held in contempt.

I think what you are seeing is a different legal system and different rules for reporting in France. If I'm right there are no jury trials, instead an examining magistrate sifts the evidence and decides ( I think I am correct in this but law was a very long time ago now!) therefore you cannot prejudice any future trial

The BBC are reporting what the French prosecutor said - which is rather more than anyone official would say in the UK, I think.

There isn't a presumption of innocence, French legal code has roots in Napoleonic legal code which starts with a presumption of guilt & works backwards.

Don't ask me for details how that avoids injustices, I am not a legal expert. But English system is unusual with the presumption of innocence thing, most other legal systems work rather differently. So their "judges" are more like Prosecutors, etc.

It does seem to be very sensationalist so soon. The dead fathers accountant was giving interviews saying that there is nothing wrong with the business accounts....I dunno, it just seemed that he was being too open about something which I expected would have been discussed by the authorities behind closed doors.

And then I watched horrified as a photographer took endless photos of the family home in the UK, over and over. Not sure why he needed so many shots of the exact same thing (and this is when Sky reporters we're saying that nothing has been taken from the house, eg computers). But the absolute worse thing was when the photographer asked a policewoman to pose I front of the house, and she complied. All this was taking place over the shoulder of the reporter.

Anyway, regardless of all this, it's just such a sad, sad case. Those poor girls....