The Thin Blue Line Sparknotes

Writing Assignment 4

It all starts with something as simple as hearing a story that sparks an interest, next the question: "why are we so fascinated by this crime or deviance," follows. Then it's elevated quickly when the belief of the formation of a friendship, understanding or even relating to the story. Empathy sets in. Gears begin to grind, to contemplate, create a reason to dig deeper, to know more, to investigate and find out the true story. The media has been very successful when it comes to gathering, engaging, and keeping the public's fascination. They can equally tap into the public's thoughts to help stimulate and persuade them. They're able to persuade the public because in their mind they have something to prove, whether it's

a person's innocence or a person's guilt. So when asked, "What role does media serve in the search for different forms of justice?" I would answer; "The influence that media has on criminal justice is stronger now more than ever."

The average American does not interact with the criminal justice system on a regular basis. This is particularly striking in the courtroom, where jurors are likely to be the only people who haven't had this experience before. The novelty of actual criminal investigation stands in contrast to what Americans watch on television or what they hear from different sources of media. The media serves as the primary public source for information of importance, reliance, or any information period. The public no longer interacts to the extent they once have; this leads to greater social alienation. As a result, there had been an increase of reliance on media for updates and news on a local and regional. This also means reliance on the state for coping with the perceived dangers has also increased. But when the state fails to handle matters timely and efficiently, then the public tends to look to populist forces that have promised and followed through with giving solutions. The pressure has and continues to determine the media's treatment of crime and violence, and the resulting coverage has played a major role in reshaping the public's opinion. The media are reflecting events in society. The media is gaining contents by way of the economic and marketing considerations that frequently override traditional journalistic criteria. The fact is the media is so popular as the most consumed source of information. However, it also serves as an absolutely excellent inflammatory agent to public opinion at crucial times when the public opinions are more easily swayed.

It's obvious that society has become more violent due to the modern media industry. The growth of film, television and, latterly, computer technologies, have all done their fair share to add on to public anxieties. While the media is reporting a crime or covering a trial they tend to focus more on the personal aspects by going into detail about the person's emotional experiences and ignoring the objective statistical data and most expert commentary, as Morris did when getting to know Robert Durst in Jinx. This approach reinforces common perceptions of crime but diminishes chances to truly help inform the public's opinion.

Errol Morris became personally persuaded to prove Randall Adams' innocence, by exploring the 1976 murder of Robert Wood, who was a police officer.

Morris did so by making the documentary The Thin Blue Line. The release of this documentary was an excellent example of how media influences not only the public but the world. Morris was able to not only persuade the public, but he was able to prove Randell Adams innocence. He was able to get an indirect confession from David Harris, something police couldn't get, many even believed that at that time police weren't even motivated to get that confession. The police falsely accused a man of murder simply because one of their own was murdered and they wanted the cruelest punishment for his murderer. They were out to send Randell Adams to get the death penalty because he was of age. Even worse there were witnesses who complied and also gave false statements about who they saw in the vehicle of the murderer. These witnesses were influenced by information that media gave out. Media should not proposition a reward in exchange for information. This form of media leads people to do irrational things, such as falsify statements in order to obtain the reward. The public is so greatly influenced by the things they see and hear on media that they're not even aware that media can have just as much of a negative effect as it can

positive.

In conclusion, I believe that media plays such a large role in the justice system. Media has the power to persuade the minds and opinions of the public, which is a very strong power that should be used with caution. However, the media uses their power to lie, distort, exploit and betray people and the truth. Even the news gives more devastating new than they do positively reinforces. Media is known for giving false information or stamping individuals with a certain title based off of accusations, but when the accusations turn out to be false they don't make a national broadcast inform the public. Instead of exploiting the positive outcome worldwide, they show it locally in a newspaper which is less informing now than the television, and the bad is broadcasted on the news channels all over. Media should be influencing the public to be optimistic, inform them of the good that surrounds them.