Jonathan Kaplan’s 1988 trial drama The Accused is the story of a young woman, Sarah Tobias, who is gang raped by three patrons in a bar, while bystanders watched and encouraged the offenders. After the crime, the Assistant District Attorney (ADA), Katheryn Murphy, plea bargains with the defense attorneys, and the offenders receive a reduced charge of reckless endangerment (2 ½-5 years in prison). Tobias, the victim, outraged by this verdict seeks to find justice for her suffering. Eventually Murphy, the ADA, successfully persecutes three active bystanders with criminal solicitation charges due to their role of inducing the attack. In many ways, The Accused depicts the reality of how sexual assault cases are handled today. Receiving equal …show more content…
To sell news, the media’s coverage of sexual assaults tends to be slanted with imposed stereotypes upon the victim. An example of media coverage in The Accused occured after the initial appearance before the judge when the offenders are granted bail. The news station only covered the offenders’ angle and stated, “the facts will prove the victim was not really raped.” The defense attorney stated in his interview, “There was no rape. The so-called victim participated enthusiastically…put on a show” (Kaplan, The Accused). One offender is immediately congratulated with applause from fellow college students watching the media coverage. The movie demonstrated journalists’ and media’s power and ability to sway and form public opinion. Society begins to believe only what they are told from these sources. Through biased news coverage of criminal acts, especially sexual assault, the media is already playing judge and jury effecting the outcome of the …show more content…
Murphy did not advise or consult Tobias prior to accepting the plea deal, leaving the victim to learn about the agreement through media coverage. Even though most States’ Victim Right’s Amendments stipulate this as a right, prosecutors rarely consult the victim during or after plea bargaining (Karmen 326). Fortunately, Murphy felt remorse towards Tobias for not offering her the chance to testify against her offenders before agreeing to a plea. To make amends, she pressed criminal solicitation charges against three active spectators and successfully won. This allowed Tobias the chance to tell her story in court and legally document the event as rape. While the plea-bargaining process does allow the criminal justice system to run smoother, it can silence the victim’s voice, minimize the severity of the offense, and deprive victims and society of moral
Rape is a hidden epidemic that affects many lives world wide. It is a problem that is so terrifying and uncomfortable that people do not talk about it. John Krakauer, author of Missoula, focuses on this issue of rape in the college town of Missoula, Montana. His focus is specifically on the case of Allison Huguet and Beau Donaldson. As the progression of Allison 's case continues we learn of more and more rape cases that happened to women on this same campus. A majority of women do not report these cases, we later learn as Krakauer continues through Allison 's case, because reporting and pursuing the case would be giving their life away. [4] Of course Allison decides to go through the trails of Beau Donaldson, however it is obvious that it is extremely difficult to convict someone with little evidence. As hard of a read as Missoula
The 2006 Duke Lacrosse Case brought to light many of the issues and divisions currently plaguing our media sphere. This terrible act of injustice, which blamed three innocent Duke lacrosse players, Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans, for the rape of an African-American stripper, garnered extensive media attention that gripped America for almost an entire year (Wasserman, 3). Today, many scrutinze the media’s methods of covering the case, and deem that certain codes of ethics were not adhered to. Rather than remaining neutral, newspapers and TV outlets allowed themselves to “be used” by Mike Nifong, the former District Attorney for Durham and prosecutor of the case, by reporting only his version of the incident and investigation (11). While some newspapers like Newsweek and The News & Observer were relatively quick to recognize flaws in the investigation, many prominent outlets like The New York Times overlooked important evidence and published inaccurate information. In response to this, the Duke Lacrosse Case saw a huge rise in blog reporting, as many sought to uncover the truth. Conclusively, the media overstepped its boundaries when reporting on this particular case, demonstrating the compelling effects sensationalism has on the field of journalism.
Taylor, N & Joudo, J. 2005. “The impact of pre-recorded video and closed circuit television testimony by adult sexual assault complainants on jury decision-making: an experimental study”, Research and Public Policy Series, No. 68, Australian Institute of Criminology.
The book Black Hearts begins by painting an awful picture of a crime scene that was reported to 1st platoon Bravo Company of the 1-502nd 101st Airborne Division. The soldiers that are sent to investigate find that an entire family has been murdered, the daughter had been raped, and someone attempted to set the house ablaze, the family had all been killed in a seemingly brutal execution, while investigating one of the NCOs found a shotgun shell which he thought was strange because most Iraqis do not use shotguns. He compiled the evidence to be sent up to higher and they chalked it up as another Iraqi on Iraqi sectarian execution. Then the book takes us to before any of that happened, the book focuses on a battalion in the 101st Airborne Division, leading the battalion was Ltc. Kunk, he ruled with an Iron fist and was very hard on his subordinates. Within the battalion the book focuses primarily on Bravo Company, who was headed by Cpt. Goodwin. Goodwin was a competent leader but Ltc. Kunk had a reputation for being very hard on his company commanders and having very little faith in their abilities. Pre-deployment while at JRTC (Joint Readiness Training Center) he would explode on his commanders, and tell them that they were doing everything wrong, criticizing and degrading them. This wore down on his commanders and especially Goodwin, Goodwin would begin to second guess his decisions, making him less effective as a leader and making him make more mistakes than before, this would make Kunk even more upset and he would berate him even more than he would in the first place. The battalion would be deploying into the “Triangle of Death” a patch of ground south of Baghdad. It ran along one of the major highways that led into Bag...
In The Murder of Helen Jewett, Patricia Cohen uses one of the most trivial murders during the 1800’s to illustrate the sexiest society accommodations to the privileged, hypocritical tunneled views toward sexual behavior, and the exploitation of legal codes, use of tabloid journalism, and politics. Taking the fact that woman was made from taking a rib from man was more than biblical knowledge, but incorporated into the male belief that a woman’s place is determined by the man. Helen had the proper rearing a maid servant, but how did she fall so far from grace. Judge Weston properly takes credit for rearing her with the proper strictness and education. Was Helen seduced at an early age and introduced to sexual perversions that were more persuasive that the bible belt life that the Weston’s tried to live? Was Helen simply a woman who knew how to use what she had to get what she wanted? Through personal correspondence, legal documentation, census reports, paintings, and newspapers we are able to make our own determinations. Cohen provides more than enough background and history to allow any one to make their own opinion how the murder of a woman could be turned into a side show at a circus.
Through manipulation and lies, media manages to modify objective news into biased news in order to convince the public of what the media wants them to believe. The article, “How the Media Twist the News”, by Sheila Gribben Liaugminas discusses the major influence that news has on readers based on their choice of stories and words. “How the Media Twists the News” has borrowed from multiple other texts such as the books like Public Opinion and Liberty and News, news magazine writers such as Ruderman, and news networks like CBS through Bias, A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News and CNN to make her arguments valid and prove that the news is biased and that it does influence readers significantly because of it.
"Know the Cases." Innocence Project. Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, n.d. Web. 1 Mar 2011. .
During these difficult economic times sensationalism has become more prevalent in the media. Stories involving sex scandals and child murders have taken over our T.V and internet screens as well as the front pages of our newspapers. The media bias of sensationalism has been used as a sort of escapism for readers. Although it may seem that sensationalism has just started making waves, it has been around for decades. Sensationalism has been influencing viewers and contributing to media bias since the days of the penny press. Sensationalisms long history has been turbulent, self-serving, and influential to today’s reporting practices. With the influence over readers’ sensationalism’s media bias have and will continue to affect media reporting for years to come.
When the victim does not fit the ideal victim attributes which society has familiarised themselves with, it can cause complications and confusion. Experts have noticed there is already a significant presence of victim blaming, especially for cases involving both genders. The fear of being blamed and rejected by the public is prominent in all victims. Victim blaming proclaims the victim also played a role in the crime by allowing the crime to occur through their actions (Kilmartin and Allison, 2017, p.21). Agarin (2014, p.173) underlines the problem of victim blaming is due to the mass of social problems and misconceptions within society. The offender can have “an edge in court of public opinion” if victim blaming exists, resulting in the prevention of the case accomplishing an effective deduction in court (Humphries, 2009, p.27). Thus, victims will become more reluctant to report offences because of their decrease in trust in the police and criminal justice system, leading to the dark figure of
The media, both in the mainstream and alternative sources, determine how the community views crime and how it represents the victims of crime, criminals and law enforcement officials. Media organisations have arguably become the main source of news, entertainment, recreation, and product information in society. For many people, media outlets such as newspapers, magazines, social media and television broadcasts inform viewers about events that affect their everyday lives. This essay will explore the many variations of how crime is misrepresented in society through mass media organisations. Over the years, research has shown an increase in crime is largely over-represented in media coverage, compared to actual crime rates in society.
In Death of an Innocent, Chris McCandless goes on a memorable and tragic journey into Alaska, but for most of his expedition he was known, not as Chris McCandless, but as Alexander Supertramp. The reason that he changed his name for his journey was because he is running away from his past and wanted to become the person he believed he really was.
Research also suggests that the media is a major decider in what crime cases get chosen to air on the news. While it was previously thought that what went on the news was arbitrarily picked or based on the most interesting cases, it turns out that it is not quite the case. J...
The first case is based upon the character of Sarah Tobias, portrayed by Jodi Foster in the movie The Accused. Sarah is depicted as a young independent woman who has just ended a relationship with her partner. After the breakup, Sarah goes to a bar called The Mill where her friend works. After a couple of drinks, Sarah is no longer sober. She starts dancing provocatively. The men in the bar surround her, and she is gang-raped. Later at the hospital, Sarah, battered and exhausted, is interrogated. One of the standard questions directed at her inquires as to whether or not she has ever had an STD. During the trial, Sarah is bombarded by more questions about her past. She is portrayed as if she were the guilty one, even though she has been violated in a vicious assault. The defense attorney builds his defense on the possibility that her lifestyle makes her into women who would ask to be raped. He emphasizes how she was drunk and was dressed provocatively on the night in question. He suggests that wearing a mini skirt can translate into an invitation to be raped, that consent comes complicit with attire.
This is evident in the voices of the victims, who we never allow to speak. It manifests in our own silence as well. No one is the first to admit that they are part of the problem. The everyday person is not a rapist. But they could be the marketing team who uses a woman as an advertising technique, who sells their bodies like a product. They could even be in the top 100 list on iTunes, hiding ugly words behind a catchy melody. The obvious example here is Robin Thicke’s popular Blurred Lines. In which he intentionally degrades women in the most taboo ways possible because he is “the perfect [guy] to make fun of this”. Apparently being married with kids qualifies you to degrade women. You’ve proved that you 're not completely despicable so you get to do whatever you like. It’s not bad enough that one man believes he can get away with this behaviour, but imagine the effect of millions of listeners hearing the lyrics “I know you want it” everyday on the radio and associating it with a song they really like. That message won’t come off as negative to them. It will excuse a harmful ideology in their minds. They will find reasons to justify why they like that song, ignoring the fact that it promotes a dangerous message. Robin Thicke is not the only one guilty of doing this. Turn on the radio for ten minutes and that fact becomes obvious. Imagine the effect of us constantly convincing ourselves that this is excusable. Eventually these themes move
One problem that plagues us everyday without us even realizing it is media bias. We see it in the news. We see it on our favorite sitcoms. We read it everyday in the paper. Yet, we really don't recognize it when we hear it or see it. Media bias is evident in every aspect of the media, yet the problem is that we don't even recognize it when it is right in front of our faces. Are the impressions that we form about individuals a product of the media? Do we form certain opinions about particular types of people based solely on the things we see and hear in the media everyday without even realizing it? The problem is not only that there is media bias present, but also that we can't recognize it when we see it.