I've been thinking about this post since I read it yesterday, which is an indication that it is a good one, indeed. I've snipped for space but tried to leave enough to give seagull's major points. In general, I agree with them, especially the point where the tabloid media (really the only media covering this case in the US) fails to ask the pertinent questions (does the video show anyone else entering the hotel room? Have the date-rape drugs been linked to Joran through forensics or other investigation?) These would be simple questions to ask and get answers to.
On the other hand, the word "alleged" is over-valued. Here in Pittsburgh, we had an incident in which a man shot and killed three police officers who came to his mother's home because she had called 911 to get help in removing him from the home. The word "alleged" would be silly in this context, as we are factually certain who killed those officers--the guy in the home who pulled the trigger and was later subdued and arrested. In many cases we know very well who did the crime because the guilty party or parties were essentially caught in the act or in the act of fleeing. (I have the same mistrust for "person of interest"--the person is a suspect. Sometimes we know who did it. Sometimes we aren't sure and the person begins as a suspect.) In all cases, the prosecution is "alleging" that the person charged committed the crime. But it some cases, it isn't hard to see that it is very, very unlikely that the person accused is innocent of the crime.
And then the defense attorney can have some impact by challenging media facts and reporting. Joe Tacopina had some success at this in the Holloway case. In the end, the US system requires the prosecution to show evidence and gives the defense a chance to refute that evidence. In reality, the prosecution, with its tremendous resources and the weight of authority behind it, always has the advantage. Although many people on WS are outraged that certain apparently guilty people are not charged with murder or kidnapping (etc.), and it is maddening to see people apparently get away with horrible crimes, we should be grateful that prosecutors don't go to trial without what they see as enough evidence to convict. It's a tough balance--the rights of the accused vs. justice for the victims vs. the safety of society.
I think Joran's case falls very close to the line where people of common sense can see (with video and the circumstances, including his flight to Chile) that the right person has been arrested for this crime. We aren't required to ignore the facts of the case (it's Joran's room, he took her car, etc.) as we make our judgment, any more than Pittsburghers would have been required to think of the man who shot those police officers as an "alleged killer." Had Joran simply been SEEN with Stephany at the casino and later she had "disappeared" as Natalee did, we would be in a different situation.
