Misleading Headline of the Day - 8 August 2013

The Herald tries to put words into Judith Collins' mouth; here's the headline:

Collins admits Teina Pora could be innocent

Then read the substance of the story:

Justice Minister Judith Collins has admitted convicted rapist Teina Pora, who has spent the past 20 years in prison, could be innocent.
In an interview on RadioLive this morning, Ms Collins was asked whether there was a possibility Pora could have been wrongly convicted.
"Of course - and I never make statements about somebody's guilt or innocence because I don't know,'' she replied.
"I am not in the court now ... what I know, from time to time there will be people who are wrongly convicted.''

Any criminal anywhere "could have" been wrongly convicted. And indeed some have been. That does not mean that Judith Collins thinks that Teina Pora is necessarily one of these.

It's interesting too that this "revelation" took place on a RadioLive interview. The radio station is of course owned by Mediaworks which also owns TV3, the channel that has invested heavily in the Teina Pora story. 

If Teina Pora WAS wrongly convicted, there are legal mechanisms to right the wrong. But trying the case in the media is not the way forward.