104. Dark Arts 1: How biasing is pre-trial publicity?

Bad People

BBC

Society & Culture, True Crime, Unknown

4.4 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 June 2023

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In December 2010, the UK media became fixated with the disappearance of 25 year-old Joanna Yeates. When her body was discovered, many tabloid newspapers felt certain they knew the identity of her murderer. Christopher Jefferies had been Joanna’s landlord and was considered by some to be “strange”. The claims against Christopher were unfounded. Being hounded by the press left lasting reputational and psychological scars. In this episode of Bad People, Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen ask: is it possible to have a fair trial when the tabloids have decided you are guilty? They explore research on prejudicial pre-trial publicity as well as “media shock” effects after police issue warnings about a killer on the loose. CREDITS Presenters: Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen Producers: Laura Northedge and Lauren Armstrong-Carter Assistant Producer: Hannah Ward Editors: Anna Lacey and Richard Collings Music: Matt Chandler Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland #BadPeople_BBC

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:06.3	In this new BBC Sounds podcast, we investigate a 90s legal scandal that shook Scotland.
0:13.7	As court cases collapsed, rumors spread that secretly gay legal figures were involved in
0:19.0	a conspiracy.
0:20.0	The rumor was that there was this cabal of gay judges and senior legal people who would
0:26.7	arrange to get these guys off.
0:28.9	A judge resigned, a police station was robbed, and journalists were arrested.
0:34.5	This was a question of the integrity of Scottish justice.
0:38.4	And at the centre of the scandal was a talented charismatic lawyer with a dark secret.
0:43.2	Bob Henderson, Bob Henderson, Bob Henderson, Bob Henderson, Bob Henderson.
0:47.8	He caused so much damage not just to me, but to loads of people.
0:51.4	That's shiny Bob, the devil's advocate.
0:54.6	Listen now on BBC Sounds, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:58.8	So, it's just that there's dogs.
1:27.0	They match them all in all of you.
1:28.4	As you can tell, we are joined today by our live audience of 300,000 people in London
1:41.2	at the BBC Broadcasting House.
1:46.3	I'm so sorry, I love you, I'm so sorry.
1:55.0	Should we do the podcast?
1:58.3	Three, two, one.
2:02.4	What's the weirdest thing a journalist has ever written about you?
2:06.4	One of the weirdest things was, I think it was a telegraph that kept referring to me in
	...

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