#FreeKesha: How Twitter Functions As Judge, Jury, and Executioner

There has been a huge outpouring of support for pop star Kesha after she claimed that she had been ‘sexually, physically, verbally, and emotionally’ abused by her music producer, Dr Luke. Kesha signed a relatively restrictive contract with Dr Luke in 2005, which gave him exclusive rights to her first six albums and, as a result, prohibited her from working with other artists.

Kesha has claimed that she wants to repudiate her contract with Dr Luke as a result of the abuse she allegedly suffered by his hands. Last week, she unsuccessfully applied for a preliminary injunction that would free her from her contractual obligations. After her application was denied by the court, her plight garnered the attention of huge celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Lorde, and Kelly Clarkson. #FreeKesha quickly began trending on Twitter, and millions of people have used it to express their sympathies and loathing.

If Kesha’s allegations are true, then her situation is simply intolerable and her supporters’ outrage is justified. However, at this point in time they remain just that: allegations. There has been no trial for Dr Luke, but this has not stopped Kesha’s supporters already finding him guilty.

Ei incumbi probativo qui dici, non qui negat — or innocent until proven guilty — is the golden thread which runs through all great legal systems. It was introduced to criminal law in the second century by the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius and has continued to function as the beating heart of legal systems down the centuries. It is a human right which has been praised by the great thinkers of history, and defended by brave men and women who have been prepared to die to preserve it. If one were to look at the so-called ‘justice systems’ of the world’s most tyrannical regimes throughout history, the presumption of innocence would be conspicuous by its absence.

And yet, the #FreeKesha movement has abandoned the presumption of innocence. Kesha’s supporters have been all too ready to launch a vitriolic attack on Dr Luke, accusing him of being a rapist without evidence and without a proper trial. Dr Luke has been tried and convicted by a judge and jury comprised of Kesha’s supporters in the courtroom of Twitter.

I have an incredibe amount of respect and admiration for those who are brave enough to report their abusers and to face them at trial. It is obviously right that rapists are punished for their actions; justice must be served. However, the verdict must be handed down by a jury of the accused’s peers after a fair and rigorous examination of the evidence. The claims of one person and her supporters are not enough.

The #FreeKesha movement is right in its desire to see rapists being held to account and for justice to be done. However, before they start branding people as rapists, they should ensure that the person has been found guilty in a proper criminal court, and not simply character assassinated in the kangaroo court of Twitter.