By: Randy Dotinga Newspaper Corrects Errors On Prosecutor Story
You know a newspaper is having a bad day when a correction appears on the front
page and logs in at 400 words, more than a third the size of the original
"unsubstantiated" article. And you know it's an even bigger disaster when the
editor is forced to apologize in print to the subject of the article - the
county's top prosecutor.
That's what happened at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, which found
itself intensely regretting a story that suggested local prosecutors pursued
murder cases tainted by bad evidence. The story in question appeared on March 3
and outlined attempts by noted attorney Barry Scheck and Death Row lawyers to
push for an independent review of murder cases prosecuted in Broward County over
the past two decades.
The Fort Lauderdale-based newspaper said it had found nine cases of people freed
due to "tainted evidence and confessions." But a week later, the Sun-
Sentinel apologized and printed a list of "errors and omissions."
Among other things, it said the story wrongly referred to tainted DNA evidence
in one case and mistakenly reported that prosecutors had blocked DNA testing in
one disputed case for 10 years. In a sidebar about Broward State Attorney Mike
Satz's reaction to the original piece, Sun-Sentinel editor Earl Maucker
was quoted as saying, "there is no question that much of what we reported was
out of context and included factual errors. We owe Mike Satz and his assistants
an apology."
Maucker was unavailable for comment and other editors did not immediately return
a phone call.
The newspaper's troubles may not be over yet. While prosecutors appreciate the
newspaper's efforts to undo the damage, "some attorneys don't feel it went far
enough, either legally or ethically," said Ron Ishoy, spokesman for Satz's
office. He said Satz called an emergency meeting of seven prosecutors on the
evening of the Saturday when the original story was published. Later,
prosecutors met with Sun-Sentinel staffers. "It truly was a bad piece of
newspapering," Ishoy said.
Randy Dotinga is a free-lancer based in San Diego.
Copyright 2001, Editor & Publisher.
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