NB C-notes
14 years ago
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Paying Sources
The news that Northwestern journalism students paid witnesses in the hopes of freeing a convicted murder is stunning. I'm still in disbelief that one journalism student with the Innocence Project paid a witness in cash for his testimony. (The student paid a cabdriver $60 to pick up a witness- $40 more than the price of the cabfare itself, and reportedly the witness pocketed remaining $40 and used it for crack cocaine.) I do wonder however, if just the act of sending a cab and paying for his fare was an ethical breach in and of itself. Are smaller acts- such as buying coffee, lunch or a drink for a source during an interview- unethical?
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3 comments:
You really don't "believe" students paid a witness just because it's alleged, do you?
I know many students in this class are from other countries, so let me offer you this brief primer - this is happening in freekin' Cook County, Illinois. It means the prosecutor is a low life, lying, corrupt, sleazebag, mafia butt boy until proven otherwise.
Think he might be trying to poison the jury pool for McKinney's next trail? Even if he admits he's wrong the damage is done.
If you must to believe something try these -- every cop is crooked... every prosecutor is bent... every elected official is bought and paid for... that way, you'll be correct 98% of the time.
DISCLAIMER: My pal Laura Sullivan is one of the project's former student journalists.
Ok that seems a bit harsh Andrew.
Not everyone has their hand out for an under the table bribe.
It's always best to not take anything from anyone when investigating/reporting a story.
While you should be aware that the potential exists that someone has been bribed, it isn't a bad thing to give them the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.
Isn't that what the American constitution advocates?
Of course I'm only a student from another country.....
Harsh, perhaps.
So, let me say this in as gentle and soothing a hand-patting way as possible.
Innocence Project students have helped free 11 wrongly convicted people from prison... five from death row... one of those two days before the state was set to execute him (if he's not guilty yet ends up executed is that murder?) Whoops, sorry for that harsh image.
The New York Times has, in today's edition, a great piece on Cook County situation.
But, I wouldn't read it if you might become uncomfortable with images evoked by sentences that have Cook County police using a pipe to beat a confession out of a suspect.
Images of pipe beatings, after all, should probably be reserved for sentences that begin... "The Maple Leafs are so woeful that..."
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