“They should have the death penalty for people like me”

 Missing Persons Poster For Jill Meagher

Adrian Ernest Bayley formally pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of ABC journalist Jill Meagher today. He will return to the Supreme Court in June to stand trial.

When Mrs. Meagher disappeared, the public support and outcry was immense. It made international news, and social networking became a hot bed of speculation. What had happened? Where was she? Was she abducted?

Adrian Ernest Bayley

What we do know now is this: At 1.30am on the 21^st of September 2012, Mrs. Meagher began the ill fated 500m-walk down Sydney rd. She was walking home from the bar in Brunswick at which she was drinking with work friends. She never made it home. CCTV footage seized from businesses along Sydney road shows she met a man wearing a blue hoodie outside a dress shop who continued to walk with her. This stranger was Bayley. Mr Bayley hails from Coburg, a suburb not even a kilometer from where they both stood in the early hours of the morning of the 21^st.

A, Murder Location. B, Where Bayley Lived. C, 
Where Jill's Body was dumped.  Click to Zoom.

Mrs. Meagher was reported missing by her husband, Tom. A social networking campaign was started to try and find Jill, which went viral. CCTV footage of Bayley was all over the internet and news – meaning it was only a matter of time until he was discovered.

Police brought Bayley in for questioning days later after compiling substantial evidence against him. At first Bayley denied any involvement, but after hours of questioning and Bayley’s GPS on his phone surrendering his location, he finally caved. He led police to Diggers Rest, north west of Melbourne, to where Meagher was buried.

In the police interview in which Bayley reveals the truth, he has an interchange with the detective interviewing him. An article quoting an official court document (which can be read here) shows an interchange between Bayley and the detective interviewing him:

Bayley: ‘They should have the death penalty for people like me.’
Detective: ‘I can’t tell you what’s gonna happen.’
Bayley: ‘No well – that’s what I hope.’

It seems a lot of the Australian public had agreed with him. During this case, Trial by social media became a real issue. Police asked social networkers not to condemn Bayley, and even attempted to shut down the Facebook page that was originally set up to help raise awareness that Jill was missing. Social Media speculation created a risk of mistrial, as so much speculation and accusation could not possibly mean a fair trial.  But it didn’t stop chins wagging and twits tweeting. Now Bayley has confessed to his crime and formally plead guilty, it seems Jill Meagher’s sad tale is drawing to a close.

The power of social networking resonates over and over in this case. It was a campaign to raise awareness that got businesses scouring CCTV footage. It was thousands of people watching it; eyes keen for someone they know that may have been able to help or provide information. It was the 10,000 people-strong peace march after her body was found, and the lynch mob formed to voice their condemnation of her killer.

Social Media has such a widespread effect in today’s society, and this is one of the largest cases that it has been such an integral part of. It has its positives and negatives, but is trial by social media a power that the public may not be strong or wise enough to wield?  The fact that the public could create a mistrial due to online speculation suggests so. Is coverage better left to the professionals who are more aware of what effect their words can have? As time goes on, cases like this will occur more often, and it will soon become clear as to whether the public can actually be fair or if it will just continue to jump on its own bandwagon. 

References:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/inside-adrian-bayleys-police-interview/story-fnat79vb-1226612848008

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/bayleys-wish-for-his-own-death-penalty-20130312-2fx8i.html

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2012/10/trial-by-social-media-in-australia-prompts-clash-over-accused-murderer285.html