Those absurd "satanic cults"

The reporters and lawyer talking heads who fill time on cable talking about the Laci Peterson case are united in their dismissal of the "satanic cult" theory floated by defense before the judge issued his gag order.

I share their skepticism. What no one mentions, however, is that prosecutors once were happy to propose equally fantastical theories when it served their purposes and the same skeptical media (Geraldo chief among them) flogged it relentlessly.

Back in the 1980s, there were a flood of prosecutions for "ritual child abuse." The prosecutors convinced juries that town after town was plagued by cults that tortured and killed children as part of their ceremonies. Dozens of people were convicted and it took years for the appeals courts to free them. Some, in fact, are still in jail.

The Wall Street Journal's Dorothy Rabinowitz won a Pulitzer for her work uncovering the shoddy work of police, prosecutors, and social workers which led to these miscarriages of justice. She has even written a book on the subject.

So I wish Rita, Greta, Dan, and the rest of the journalists pouring scorn on the Peterson defense team would spend just fifteen minutes discussing why it is stupid for defense attorneys to float the idea, but OK for DA's to use it as a central feature of their prosecution.