Australian Rugby Star Jarryd Hayne Wins Appeal in Rape Case
The Facts
Jarryd Hayne, one of the most high-profile athletes in Australia's National Rugby League, has won an appeal to overturn his sexual assault convictions and get released on bail from prison.
This comes as a 2-1 majority in the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal found on Wednesday that his lawyers should have been allowed to cross-examine the complainant about messages she sent to a woman, which they claim could prove his innocence.
The Spin
Narrative A
Three trials, two convictions, and six years after the alleged incident, Hayne is free yet again. Not only has Australia's justice system failed to deliver justice in this case, but it has also repeatedly re-victimized the woman at the very center of this case.
Narrative B
No one wants a sexual predator to go unpunished, but can someone affirm that Hayne is really one when his past two convictions were overturned due to miscarriage of justice? The fact that he has already served nearly one-quarter of a now-void sentence indicates that the criminal justice system isn't fair and reasonable to both victim and defendant.
