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The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests

By Jeralyn, Section Media
Posted on Sat Apr 30, 2005 at 12:00:01 PM EST
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The presumption of guilt never takes a rest with Nancy Grace. Via Crooks and Liars,on the missing bride-to-be:

That which is Nancy Grace...

4/28 transcripts

GRACE: Well, look, I don`t have a degree in being a police chief. But I can tell you this much: This is not cold feet, all right? This is not cold feet. I know that much.

4/29 Transcripts

GRACE: Another question. Could you tell me, Jonathan, what was the fiance doing at the time she was jogging? Was he there in the home? Does he have an alibi?

Update: Balloon Juice predicted her reaction and follows up, including a link to World O'Crap's post, You Mean Bill O'Reilly Was WRONG?

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    The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests | 16 comments (16 topical)
    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#14)
    by Quaker in a Basement on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:54:09 PM EST
    "but if I were a federal prosecutor, I'd see what I could do to bring some charges." Yeah, I got that. What would you charge her with?

    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#1)
    by Joe Bob on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:36 PM EST
    It may be a good thing if we see some more Richard Jewell outcomes in these sorts of situations. For those of you who don't remember, the news media painted him as the likely perpetrator of the Atlanta Olympic bombing, to which Eric Rudolph later confessed. Jewell brought suits against the media outlets who defamed him and won a settlement. If I were in the fiance's shoes I would be righteously pissed off by a pundit going on CNN and implying that I am a murderer. What if the woman decided to lay low for awhile? This guy would have been vilified in the media for weeks.

    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#2)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:36 PM EST
    it'll be funny to see how grace manages to eat some crow on this one. i guess the "victim" will now turn out to be the single most cold-footed fiancee in the history of marriage. a woman of such icy soles that no commentator could be expected to objectively assess such a situation.

    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:36 PM EST
    She did a good job - left her car, keys, money behind - then calls to say kidnappers released her. Fiance thought it was foulplay. But did Grace see the fiance on tv. Could have been a good act but I didnt even begin to believe he did it.

    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:36 PM EST
    Give Grace a chance: Perhaps she'll explain that the cold-footed bride's return is just a trick to distract us from her cold-blooded murder. The fact that she's still alive is just one of those legal technicalities beloved only by liberals.

    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#5)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:36 PM EST
    nancy (dis)grace was a rotten prosecutor and is a rotten commentator. Why this harpy was ever allowed on TV after having been rebuked for illegal conduct by the GA supreme court is a mystery.

    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#6)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:36 PM EST
    also might be a good thing for the general public in the long run. now we've seen the most extreme case of cold feet gone mad, and when the cops drop that it still might be the case, well, we'll be much more likely to say yep, let's take it easy here.

    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:36 PM EST
    The only curious thing to me about all this (we disagree in our living room) - should the courts be prosecuting this? Pro here: my 12 year old would no better than to leave her stuff and not expect family not to freak out. Con here: she had panic attack and didnt realize what would happen until saw hoopla on TV. She probably has no friends (who searched for her) and her family "loves" her now - probably enough pain. Interestingly, its the women folk here who think her lips should be ripped off.

    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:36 PM EST
    If I were John Mason, Jennifer Wilbanks's fiance, I wouldn't dare marry her now. Having a panic attack is one thing, but the way she handled it was irresponsible. What's to stop her from fleeing again if the stuffing hits the fan on something else? If I were the DA, I'd see if I could get Miss Wilbanks to perform about 5,000 hours of community service over the next ten years, preferably volunteering with agencies who work with runaways. Some of them have much bigger problems than dealing with the pressure of a blowout, showoff wedding.

    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#9)
    by Quaker in a Basement on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:36 PM EST
    "If I were the DA, I'd see if I could get Miss Wilbanks to perform about 5,000 hours of community service over the next ten years," Would you bother with the formality of a trial first? What crime would you charge her with? Last I heard, it's still legal for an adult to pick up and leave without telling anyone where she's going.

    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:36 PM EST
    I think the crime lies in the abduction claim. Yes she is free to go as she pleases, but not to file false police reports.

    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:36 PM EST
    There seems to be an epidemic of "we bet he did it," sweeping the judicial and law enforcement world in America...the problem is that it seems selective as well. Kid disappears- Where was Dad? Where was Mom? Wife disappears- Where was the husband? Woman disappears- Where was the boyfriend? Visisible minority child or woman disappears- "What else in t.v.?" Bill O'Reilly was on t.v. this past week asking, "Women being murdered in America- is it an epedemic?" This after 3 or 4 murdered white women in the South the last couple of weeks. No, Bill, it's not an epidemic- it's called the law of averages in a country that's 87% white....try looking for some brown missing women- you'll have all you could wish for if you really cared...

    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:37 PM EST
    At the risk of being boring, this shouldn't have been a national story. Atlanta and Albuquerque markets, of course. And that an irresponsibly speculative legal punditry would have the fiancee tried and convicted before there was a clear crime is symptomatic of the current climate of rushing to judgements on emotional appeals to an easily understood story (bad husband/boyfriend, e.g.) rather than solid reporting. Four Americans died in Iraq yesterday, and got a lot less coverage than this little domestic drama. And if I had 600 wedding guests, I'd probably run like hell.

    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:38 PM EST
    Quaker, here's the problem I have with it. First of all, Jennifer Wilbanks wasn't honest enough with her fiance to admit she was scared to go through with this wedding. Then, she exacerbated her fear by taking the drastic step of running away to Las Vegas and then Albuquerque and causing her family and her fiance to worry. Finally, she lied about the whole thing, told her fiance and the police that she had been kidnapped. It was only after they began questioning her that the truth came out. A lot of people are upset with Miss Wilbanks, and rightfully so. People took their time and energy to find a woman who would still be galavanting out west had she not run out of money. That's the only reason she called anybody, because she was broke. I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for Jennifer Wilbanks. She willingly put her family, her friends and her fiance through a private hell. It may not be a crime, but if I were a federal prosecutor, I'd see what I could do to bring some charges. I'll reiterate the first point I made previously--if I were John Mason, I wouldn't marry her. Now I can hear the argument that a big wedding would stress anyone. I've got a real easy solution to that--don't have a big wedding! It is entirely possible to not have 600 guests and 28 attendants in order to get married. When my wife and I got married, we did it with two witnesses, in our blue jeans. Many friends of ours who spent much more than we did wish they would've done what we did. No muss, no fuss, and everything was paid off in the space of a month, including the honeymoon and the reception. And I'll reiterate my second point. Jennifer Wilbanks should bear some sort of responsibilty for her actions. It's not a crime to go off without telling anyone, but what she did will likely cost someone who really is in danger his or her life, because people will be wary of going on another wild goose chase. I don't think 5,000 hours of community service over 10 years is too harsh. In fact, it's lenient considering my original thought--her footing the bill to rent out a suitable venue and apologizing, in public, to every citizen of Duluth, Georgia--all 25,000 of them--for what she put them through.

    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#15)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:39 PM EST
    I've seen weddings take on a life of their own. One email to CNN this AM summed it up for me: "If only my ex had gotten the same idea."

    Re: The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests (none / 0) (#16)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:39 PM EST
    Much ado about nothing. I think the young lady learned her lesson about telling tall tales, do we really need to drag her through the system? Stupidity in and of itself is not a crime. Filing a false police report?...not worth the bother.

    The Presumption of Guilt Never Rests | 16 comments (16 topical)