David Goodwillie

[durhampie]

Looks a bit like the Ched Evans case in what happened. Mason Greenwood next?

If Greenwood is found guilty of both Rape and GBH, i would imagine by the time he is released his playing days will be long gone.

[irishpete]

If Greenwood is found guilty of both Rape and GBH, i would imagine by the time he is released his playing days will be long gone.

True, don't forget the threats to kill as well.

[Chicken Balti Pie]

Was he found guilty?

He was never convicted in a criminal court but in civil court he lost. I'm not entirely sure if that actually counts as a conviction especially as the burden of proof is a lot lower.

This for me muddies the waters somewhat, especially in the day and age where the CPS are instructed to prosecute at all costs ***ual assaults. The fact they felt there was not enough evidence says to me that it's a very grey and murky area.

[upthemaggies]

Speaking of football controversy, I don't think it's been mentioned on here that our next opponents after the weekend - Barnet - were threatening to go on strike a couple of days ago over an alleged racist comment made by a member of the backroom staff. Not sure if it's been resolved yet but it's the sort of thing that can have a big impact on performances either way, see Notts last season for a positive reaction. They did lose Tuesday night but that was to the division's 2nd best in-form team Southend away.

[jackal2]

Lee Hughes' return to football was questioned by many (including me) but the general argument in his defence was that he had served his time for his criminal conviction and was entitled to get on with his life. The same has applied to several other footballers convicted of various crimes.

David Goodwillie doesn't have a criminal conviction, only a civil finding against him, but the nature of his crime is the problem in the eyes of the public (and sponsors) who evidently view a crime such as rape to be less forgivable than causing death through an act of extreme negligence.

I suppose the only conclusion you can really draw is that the Court of Public Opinion is more dangerous to the career of a wrongdoing footballer than a criminal or civil court.

[Mark_Ross]

Forget the actual chances of him signing for Notts, but, given our history with Lee Hughes, how would fans feel if Notts were to sign Goodwillie….whose career is now in limbo?

I think that, like in Lee’s case, his past would be quickly forgotten if he scored a hatrick on his imaginary debut.

I've seen him playing at Ross for Dundee Utd. He was booed / *******ed mercilessly by home fans. Could have been a decent player to be fair. Seems he has shown no remorse whatsoever for his crime. Hence does not deserve another chance.

[cher1]

He was never convicted in a criminal court but in civil court he lost. I'm not entirely sure if that actually counts as a conviction especially as the burden of proof is a lot lower.

This for me muddies the waters somewhat, especially in the day and age where the CPS are instructed to prosecute at all costs ***ual assaults. The fact they felt there was not enough evidence says to me that it's a very grey and murky area.

That second paragraph is sadly inaccurate. The rate of prosecutions for r a p e now stands at 1.4% of reported cases. For s e x u a l assaults it is 3.3%. Those rates are lower than ever, and it's openly said now that r a p e has effectively been decriminalised. And those are prosecution figures, NOT convictions. The fact that Goodwillie wasnt convicted is no surprise, and is no indication of innocence.

There is an epidemic of s e x u a l violence against women and girls - 1 in 4 over 16s have been attacked in this way. Something needs to change.

[Thordardaughter]

That second paragraph is sadly inaccurate. The rate of prosecutions for r a p e now stands at 1.4% of reported cases. For s e x u a l assaults it is 3.3%. Those rates are lower than ever, and it's openly said now that r a p e has effectively been decriminalised. And those are prosecution figures, NOT convictions. The fact that Goodwillie wasnt convicted is no surprise, and is no indication of innocence.

There is an epidemic of s e x u a l violence against women and girls - 1 in 4 over 16s have been attacked in this way. Something needs to change.

Those stars are shocking ! Something does certainly need to change and it needs to start with our younger generation in schools where a lot of this unacceptable behaviour starts.

[queenslandpie]

That second paragraph is sadly inaccurate. The rate of prosecutions for r a p e now stands at 1.4% of reported cases. For s e x u a l assaults it is 3.3%. Those rates are lower than ever, and it's openly said now that r a p e has effectively been decriminalised. And those are prosecution figures, NOT convictions. The fact that Goodwillie wasnt convicted is no surprise, and is no indication of innocence.

There is an epidemic of s e x u a l violence against women and girls - 1 in 4 over 16s have been attacked in this way. Something needs to change.

Frightening statistics. Are those stats from the UK? I would have thought with advances in technology and mobile phones blah blah blah it would increase the chances of a conviction, but it appears that is definitely not the case. You wonder why its so low. Is it a lack of resources to investigate properly, a lack of evidence or something else?

[Chicken Balti Pie]

That second paragraph is sadly inaccurate. The rate of prosecutions for r a p e now stands at 1.4% of reported cases. For s e x u a l assaults it is 3.3%. Those rates are lower than ever, and it's openly said now that r a p e has effectively been decriminalised. And those are prosecution figures, NOT convictions. The fact that Goodwillie wasnt convicted is no surprise, and is no indication of innocence.

There is an epidemic of s e x u a l violence against women and girls - 1 in 4 over 16s have been attacked in this way. Something needs to change.

You're forgetting that those stats are for 2020. David Goodwillie was accused in 2011 when it was policy to prosecute at all costs. In 2011 stats, police recorded just over 50,000 cases of ***ual offences of which just under 10,000 proceeded to the magistrate court. So we are talking about a 20% rate going to court. If you account for the fact weirdly a lot of ***ual offences are just a caution and that a police report doesn't necessarily mean they have caught a suspect, that is quite a high figure!

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it isn't an issue, I'm just saying that at a time when ***ual assault prosecutions were higher, they didn't have evidence to go through with it in this case and I feel it's a murky area to go off civil court cases where it is a single judge presiding with a lower bar for proof. I am aware that judgement was upheld by the court of appeal but it's not a retrial in that case and they would have to prove that there was a clear error in procedure.