The death of Jacintha Saldanha at the virtual hands of Mel Grieg and Michael Christian
Australian DJs, Mel Grieg and Michael Christian should be
considered murderers. They are the pranksters who called the King Edward VII
hospital, impersonating the Queen and Prince Charles, seeking private
information, on the health of the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate. The nurse,
Jacintha Saldanha, who first took that call and put it through, has been found
dead. The implication is, of course, that she committed suicide, although no
details have yet been released.
I realize that the law is silent on this kind of situation.
I view it in moral terms. Mel Grieg and Michael Christian, committed an immoral
act – that of impersonating the Queen and Prince Charles, to gain
access to private information about a public figure and member of the Royal
household. That is clearly wrong in so many ways. They knew this when they
planned it and carried it out. They saw this as a “joke”, something to be
laughed at – but it has had the consequence of the death of a well-regarded nurse.
Since the nurse’s death is a direct consequence of their actions, I feel they
should be charged with some variety of murder, however such things are framed
in Australian law. They should pay for their moral crime, with a real prison
sentence – anything less would, itself, be immoral, for it would say that it is
OK to shame someone to death – which is what they did to this nurse.
Mel Grieg and Michael Christian acted without forethought as
to the consequences of their act – but nevertheless, they should have to pay
for those consequences.
Were it my decision to make, I would have Mel Grieg and
Michael Christian charged with murder, or manslaughter and prosecuted.
I expect, however, that they will get away with a period of
public shame (ironically) followed by a resumption of their show (which has
been taken off the air, at present). As for that – it is clear that they should
never be allowed to be on air, again – for being a broadcaster of any kind is a
responsibility they are not fit for.
I would also welcome a civil case for damages from Jacintha
Saldanha’s family against Mel Grieg and Michael Christian. Perhaps while
mulling their loss of personal fortune, along with personal freedom, behind
bars, Grieg and Christian (whose behaviour wasn’t very Christian at all), might
come to understand the reasons why moral conduct is considered preferable and
how much harm immoral conduct can do.
Posted by Valentine Cawley
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Labels: death by shame, DJ Mel Grieg, DJ Michael Christian, impersonation, Jacintha Saldanha, murderer, Prince Charles, suicide, the consequences of immorality, the price of a joke, The Queen, thoughtless stupidity
5 Comments:
I liked the way you said "Moral conduct is considered preferable" [my emphasis], and then coupled it with "Immoral conduct does harm".
If we use shame at all, it should be a disciplinary tool to make people live their lives better.
And then there's "knowledge" or "could reasonably have known". Mens rea, intent, consequences and all that.
Then there are feelings involved. Which is probably not strictly the purview of a court of law: civil or criminal.
Probably the charge would be Reckless Conduct Endangering Life and the penalty being 10 years.
I like the aptness of your suggested charge: "Reckless Conduct Endangering Life". It was most predictable that the degree of public embarrassment attendant on putting that call through, could have led to unfortunate consequences for the nurse who did so. Her co-operative action on behalf of two people she had thought to be royalty, was held up to the world for examination. Many people would be unable to take such sudden scrutiny - as she could not. She fled from life, to death, to escape the shame of it. What a pity - for in so dying it showed how much she cared for what was the right thing to do. Anyone who cared less about such things, would not have killed themselves.
I think the DJs were fully aware of the huge distress their call would cause to all involved - including the Royal Family - but they just did not care. They are a couple of thoughtless cretins...and heartless too. They put their own need for momentary glory (a.k.a "We fooled the Royal family! Aren't we clever?") and publicity, ahead of the great psychological distress they were sure to engender. That makes them most culpable in my view.
As for feelings not being admissible in court - I disagree; courts recognize emotional and psychological distress as a cause for damages.
Jacintha Saldanha's family certainly have a good case, in my view, to seek damages from these two foolish DJs.
The Law too, could certainly address them, if the powers that be, so choose.
I like the aptness of your suggested charge: "Reckless Conduct Endangering Life". It was most predictable that the degree of public embarrassment attendant on putting that call through, could have led to unfortunate consequences for the nurse who did so. Her co-operative action on behalf of two people she had thought to be royalty, was held up to the world for examination. Many people would be unable to take such sudden scrutiny - as she could not. She fled from life, to death, to escape the shame of it. What a pity - for in so dying it showed how much she cared for what was the right thing to do. Anyone who cared less about such things, would not have killed themselves.
I think the DJs were fully aware of the huge distress their call would cause to all involved - including the Royal Family - but they just did not care. They are a couple of thoughtless cretins...and heartless too. They put their own need for momentary glory (a.k.a "We fooled the Royal family! Aren't we clever?") and publicity, ahead of the great psychological distress they were sure to engender. That makes them most culpable in my view.
As for feelings not being admissible in court - I disagree; courts recognize emotional and psychological distress as a cause for damages.
Jacintha Saldanha's family certainly have a good case, in my view, to seek damages from these two foolish DJs.
The Law too, could certainly address them, if the powers that be, so choose.
Appreciate the pulling-up on psychological and emotional distress.
Am just hearing now that the nurse was "humiliated", which comes in under this sort of distress.
But such recognition of distress has often been controversial.
My three points about distress and admissibility:
1. Distress must be specific.
2. Strong evidence is required.
3. And more than token compensation should be paid.
Saldanha was indeed very co-operative. And the point about sudden scrutiny (or it could well have been longer).
Talk about momentary glory! Yes, the two did not think beyond the moment.
I see what you are saying and you bring up some good points, but I do respectfully disagree with some of what you are saying.
First of all there have been no details have been released about the Saldanha case, only speculations that she did commit suicide. To me it seems a bit suspicious, why would someone with a family take their own life over such a trivial thing as a prank call? I do not believe that the DJs "murdered" her, if they did murder her this would mean that the sole factor for her taking her life was the call. But when it comes to suicide, nothing is black and white like this. There is definitely some other factor that would have led to her becoming emotionally unstable enough to take her own life. There are so many unanswered questions here. For example: I wonder how the hospital responded to her taking the call? How was she treated after the event by her superiors? How was her home life like? We don't know the answer to those questions, but I feel that there is definitely more to the story than meets the eye. And since we have such little detail I don't think that it is right to immediately call those men murderers.
And secondly, I don't believe that these men deserve a murder charge (lifetime of imprisonment) or a manslaughter charge(30 years in prison) just for the prank call. Its just too harsh. This prank wasn't intended to be harmful like cyberbullying, it was a joke in poor taste. Was it tasteless? Yes. Improper? Definitely. A form of misconduct? Yes as well. But was it criminal? I don't believe so. The call was not meant to be intentionally harmful, nor was it malicious.
They should not be held responsible for the tragic overreaction that this nurse made due to her unstable mental state. Prank calls like this have always been going on in the radio industry, and whats being overlooked here is the lax hospital security on the part of King Edward VII’s Hospital. Any competent hospital knows that when you have a high profile patient extra security measures must be taken, but this one did not. I do believe that they should be disciplined, because they took what was meant to be private information and made it public, but I do not think they should be disciplined in the rather harsh way that you suggested.
Anyway thats my perspective, please don't take this the wrong way, its just my opinion on the matter.
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