this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2023
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Hard to tell what actually happened. Looks like he/she (he?) said thing. Why are some of these charges being brought decades later. If incident happened, the evidence can only be gathered right after, otherwise, it will be just that he/she said, which is not enough for a criminal conviction.
Because accusing a likeable and famous actor while you're a nobody, will either be ignored or lead to thousands of hateful messages in your inbox every day, unless enough others came forth first.
Well, then the entire case is just an accusation without much evidence besides "trust me bro" and outside of Weinstein who was notorious, it is very unlikely to result in conviction.
Criminal law requires evidence, otherwise it would be abused by people to get rid of people they don't like or for profit.
This is actually the truth. I am a CSA survivor, and I didn't report and now I wish so bad I did.
If anyone reading this has recently been through it, report it now! Don't wait 20 years like me to even confront it and then never have a chance at closure.
If the case isn't iron clad you'll have to defend against libel and it gets ugly fast. See for example the case of Evan Rachel Wood or Amber Heard, who had to not only defend herself once, but twice losing once and having her reputation utterly ruined because the one time she lost got so much more media attention.
See also this interview from 2005! Thats 17 years before Weinstein was finally found guilty. https://www.tmz.com/watch/0-2mpyk0xk/
I don't think Amber Heard is a good example since jury sided with Depp in the libel suit.
Weinstein was so bad that jury went along with it, as Spacey case shows, most juries are not willing to convict on "trust me bro" evidence.
I think Heard is an excellent example because Depp lost the UK trial, but won the US one which got so much more attention. Plus despite the claim Depp's side put forth that "the abuse was a hoax" being found libelous, as in the jury decided it wasn't a hoax, this didn't get any attention and Heard is made out to be the sole villain in the story and having made it all up to hurt Johnny Depp.
This will make victims think thrice before even speaking up against (much less sue) celebrities as they risk being vilified if the case isn't ironclad.
Claiming Heard is victim here is not fair to actual victims but that's just an opinion.
Also, she is celebrity herself, I highly doubt she was scared to sue.
Most people did not believe her for various reasons. Since she decided to take the entire drama into court of public opinion, people are entitled to make their own judgement, which they did, just not in the way she expected or wanted.
A case like this should be ironclad, though. "Beyond all reasonable doubt" is the standard for criminal charges. I wouldn't want people to be convicted of life-ruining crimes based on non-ironclad cases.
I'm saying the evidence doesn't just have to be "ironclad" enough for a guilty verdict, it has to be so overwhelming that the outcome of the trial can be reasonably certain before a case is made. Why would I argue for the standard for evidence in a trial to be lessened? That doesn't make sense.