The readers' editor on. the presumption of innocence and the reporting of arrests | Chris Elliott

There is a difficult balance to strike and legal ethics, reporting on crime, but cases of Rebecca Leighton, Chris Jefferies and Dominique Strauss-Kahn, raise important questions

criminal arrests had a certain notoriety in recent months that have tested the laws of contempt and the patience of readers. "I am horrified to see the full name and the photo of the nurse was involved in these deaths to insulin saline published all over the news," writes one reader when Rebecca Leighton was arrested in July after the unexplained deaths at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport. "This means that this country has heard of the principle of" innocent until proven guilty in a court of law "? "

Leighton had been arrested in connection with the contamination of bags of saline to insulin, and faces charges of criminal damage with intent to endanger life. She was detained in prison but was released on Friday, September 2, after all charges were dropped. She has always denied the allegations.

After being released, another reader writes: "When the photos and personal details of the nurse arrested in the case of death of saline was splashed in newspapers, including The Guardian, a few weeks ago I thought it was a mistake. innocent until proven guilty. Yesterday there was a huge portrait of his new, on its first page because it was released for lack of evidence.

"I guess things will never be the same thing, no doubt, as the mud sticks. The same day, "30 years" was arrested in the investigation with phone-hacking world news. Although his paper has estimated their identity, not to print the photo. Why one rule for one and for each other, and who decides to release a name and a picture? Do the police or the press? I really want to know. "

• No, not the police. This is an editorial decision made in the day to see if a photo is to be used or not, the decision may be based simply that one is available. In the case of Rebecca Leighton was right to give importance to their release.
• Case
• Leighton followed that of Chris Jeffries, the owner of Joanna Yeates murder victims. He was arrested on suspicion of murder but later released without charge, and was totally innocent of any involvement. Two tabloids have been fined later - ? 50,000 and ? 18,000 - for contempt of court for articles they had published on Jefferies after his arrest. Three senior judges ruled that the tabloid had violated the laws of contempt with reports.
• In another case that raised similar issues to some readers, Dominique Strauss-Kahn - commonly known by its initials, DSK - was arrested on charges of sexual assault in the United States, where the law is different, but the presumption of innocence remains the basic guiding principle (the charges have since been abandoned).

A reader - who said he was not a proponent of "odious" Strauss-Kahn - disagree with one aspect of our coverage, "In today's article on charges of DSK, which included this paragraph: "New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has approved the submission of Mr. Strauss-Kahn, which was conducted by the police was humiliating and it would be unjust if a defendant was found innocent. "But if you want to make the" March of the murderer, "Don 't commit the crime," he said. The Guardian ... do not realize that this allows a misconception of the criminal justice passes without comment [on] ... the Anglo-American legal system for the presumption of innocence ... Bloomberg remarks were not analyzed, so that his injury was repeated by the author ... "

There is a difficult balance to strike and legal ethics, the crime reports. It would be bad for a company that believes in open court, if news organizations considered that there should be no information on the arrests.

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