Sunday Night defends Oscar Pistorius footage amid growing criticism
Seven denies it obtained Oscar Pistorius footage illegally, but lawyers slam Seven for airing it before the end of the trial.
- Published by David Knox
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Sunday Night has defended its decision to air footage of Oscar Pistorius re-enacting the night that girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shot and killed.
A member of the defence team, Brian Webber, criticised Seven Network’s airing of the material, saying the “visual mapping” re-enactment was for trial preparation only.
“For the family, the airing of this footage constitutes a staggering breach of trust and an invasion of the family’s privacy,” he said.
“It has come to our attention that Channel Seven purchased this footage unlawfully. In addition, during our engagement with Channel Seven, we received an undertaking that they would not air any of the material before the end of the trial.”
Executive producer Mark Llewellyn told Guardian Australia, “We would not have run the footage if we thought we had obtained it illegally.
“The story was run in Australia only and not made available to any other territory.”
In an earlier statement he said, “This was a serious investigation that examined the critical 85 minutes on Valentines night 2013 when Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead by Oscar Pistorius.
“The investigation looked at both cases in forensic detail. The material shown on Sunday Night goes to the heart of both the prosecution and defence cases, including the account provided by Oscar Pistorius. As it should, it is presented without bias or embellishment.”
The footage has now attracted international attention. One legal expert in Johannesburg, Professor Stephen Tuson of the Wits School of Law, told Reuters Africa the screening could be a breach of sub-judice laws that prohibit the publication outside the courtroom of evidence or material that could influence the outcome of the trial.
“If this was done in preparation for the trial in the context of attorney-client confidentiality, it would be privileged and its publication would be a breach of the sub-judice rule. Its consequences could be a reviewable irregularity,” Tuson said.
Some media have suggested it could lead to a mistrial.
Pistorius’ trial is due to resume on Monday.
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9 Responses
@Wadd If their airing the footage – and in this day and age they know very well that “aired only in Australia” is a nonsense – results in a mistrial, they are certainly not doing what they should be doing, and it is not in the public interest to have a murderer escape justice.
Sunday Night continue to air stories with some serious ethical issues. It’s really time ACMA or someone did something about it.
Looks like Sunday Night is just Today Tonight in disguise.
Anything connected to the case is in the public interest, heightened more by the high profile status of the central figures. Channel Seven is doing what they should be doing and that is exposing information. If we want to control a free media then we may as well live in a police state run by a dictator.
This is very simple. Imagine if an overseas tv company for whatever reason ran a poll and dramatisation of an aussie current court case. For instance the baden clay one. Everyone defence, prosecution, families would condemn it.
Dreadful tv and people and their careers should be held accountable
I only watched ‘Sunday Night’ just to see how low Network Seven could sink
It appears that after last nights display, our government should have possibly contracted them to search for the missing MH 370 aircraft, as it seems they got down deeper than any of the deep sea surveillance craft seemed to ever reach
Was this just a grubby so called expose’/animation, that it seems even Mike Willesee didn’t want to touch it and opted for the feel good story.
Was it so grubby even a desperate defence team didn’t use it, but it seems they may recouped some of the production costs, by possibly selling it off to some sucker, and does ” It has come to our attention”, just legal jargon for ‘the cheque has arrived and been honoured’???
Is ‘High Profile Sporting Identity’ the world wide universal equivalent of ‘Not Guilty’ ???
This is the mob who air interview offcuts to damage the subject (eg Molly Meldrum) and had advertised a Domestic Blitz style episode for last night.
They are vultures.
I turned on to watch another advertised story and here it was. I will say it did open my mind to his defense, because all we have seen & heard is this mundane voice of the accused talking and then crying,sobbing actually, while on the stand. The whole case is horrible and now that Channel Seven has aired that footage, the gossip sites in America are featuring it, Radar on line is the first. It is only a matter of time before it get’s back to South Africa. But being the country that it is with no jury,one judge, 2 advisers, would you ever get a real rounded trial? One would think no, and blessed with the fact of our judiciary system here in Australia.
Well, well, well.
I am not surprised at the dirty tactics of channel 7.
It’s extremely dodgy how they obtained the footage.
You know what, they will all deny it, cause they will hide behind the so-called rubbish they call Journalists, code of ethics, never reveal their sources.