The popular television show, CSI: Crime Scene Investigations has been on the air for 12 years, and it has brought forth the behind-the-scenes actions of criminal investigations, even if its portrayals are not always scientifically accurate. This has caused an interest in the forensic sciences that has led most people to a skewed view of how a criminal investigation actually works. The reality of a criminal investigation is that it is generally more tedious and difficult than the theory of criminal investigation would have you believe. By examining the forensic and investigative procedures of the case of Pamela Foddrill, it is apparent that the theory of criminal investigation was not representative of the procedures concerning examination of the body, but that it was demonstrative of much of the investigatory steps taken by police, like search warrants. On August 18th, 1995, 44-year-old Pamela Foddrill disappeared from the town of Linton, Indiana. Pamela went to buy some groceries at the local IGA and was abducted: her body was found wrapped in a sleeping bag near Russellville, Illinois four months later. Roughly four years later, five individuals were held responsible for their part in the abduction, rape, and murder of Pamela Foddrill: Roger Long, John Redman, Jerry Russell Sr., Wanda Hubbell, and Plynia Fowler. Long, Redman, and Russell are serving life sentences, while Fowler pled out to 14 years and Hubbell pled out to 20 years of incarceration.…
In the Levon Brooks case. Brooks was wrongfully convicted of rape and murder of a three year old girl. He was charged with Capital Murder, and sexual battery. Things that lead to his wrongful conviction were invalidated or improper Forensic Science, and Government Misconduct. Government misconduct is considered when lying or intentionally misleading jurors about their observations, failing to overturn exculpatory evidence, and providing incentives to secure unreliable evidence from informants.…
"The news media are one of our main sources of knowledge about crime and deviance. Often the media will create a moral panic surrounding crimes and criminals or deviants.…
The abduction and subsequent murder of the toddler James Bulger, from a shopping centre in Liverpool, was a crime which brought about a huge moral panic in Britain in the 1990’s. A murder of any sort brings about a moral panic, but when the victim, and in this case the defendants, are both children, it attracts overwhelming media attention and a vast moral panic is quickly spread. It has been previously said that it is the most monstrous of crime when a child elects to kill another child. Theories of moral panics are sparked when they are spread; the ‘Grassroots Model’ (Critcher, 2008) theory occurs when the public and media collaborate, consequently leading to fears becoming exaggerated; in the case of James Bulger; ephebiphobia, which is the fear of children and youth. The murder of Bulger made parents realise how defenceless their own…
Individuals break crimes all the time but some cases take America by storm with the mass amount of media coverage. The Scott Peterson trail is a prime example of a criminal case that took the nation by storm. What makes the Scott Peterson trail special is the fact that for the first time in California an individual was sentenced to death based solely on circumstantial evidence. In this paper I will be discussing the Scott Peterson case in three key areas background/summary, evidence, and finally crime elements.…
What is the common element of the trials for O.J. Simpson, Sam Sheppard, and the Menendez brothers? All these cases were surrounded by media frenzy. The public is barraged with all types of information once it is released. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? With so many media influences from print to cameras can one truly assume an unbiased position? Many factors can play a role in the outcome of a trial. A person’s fame, fortune, or lack of is sometimes an element. In 2007 Collins said:…
Nye, Chad F. Law and Society : Journalism and Justice in the Oklahoma City Bombing Trials. El Paso, TX, USA: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC, 2013. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 3 April 2015.…
The media uses great power in our society as a way to get information out to the public. This could have a great influence on the decision process of a death penalty case. Journalists, radios, TV, and news media not only talk about evidence, but also help to decide what issues and stories publics chat about. Many crimes that are committed get wide spread mass media coverage. This can cause problems for all sides involved in handling such heart wrenching casing like death penalty cases. The crime squad officers involved in criminal cases may become entangled with the media in the process of providing evidence about a death penalty case. Mass media exposure of a trial, particularly…
In today's society with the development of technology and the fact that information is so readily available, more people are now aware of the amount of crime that occurs. The question is, are we getting a true representation of different types of crime? Nowadays a newspaper or TV news report is more likely to show cases of murder or sexual assault because they know it will sell copies and that it will grasp the attention of the audience. This is because the story has been deemed "newsworthy" or in other words, what a reporter thinks the public will want to hear about. Chibnall (1977) briefly outlined in Maguire, Morgan and Reiner's "The Oxford Handbook of Criminology" recognised eight imperatives of newsworthiness: Immediacy, Dramatisation, Personalisation, Simplification, Titillation, Conventionalism, Structured Access and Novelty and therefore we are more likely to hear about a story if it has just happened, if it is violent or sexual and if it is about a celebrity. Later three more imperatives of newsworthiness were recognised: Risk, Proximity and Children (Jewkes 2004).…
The 6th amendment states that “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury…” (“Bill of Rights.” Bill of Rights Institute”). Although the criminal justice system still follows the fundamentals of the sixth amendment, with the advancement of technology the difficulty to supply a trial without a biased jury is increasing. Due to the high media exposure, the public is able to form a preconceived verdict controlled by the press. Despite the belief that all defendants are said to be “innocent until proven guilty” the influence of the media leads the public to counteract the set principles of the criminal justice system.…
High profile murder cases like the Victoria Stafford Case and Luka Magnotta Body Parts Case have the power to shake up communities and even stir up trouble internationally. Many people become affected by such a case, even if just from hearing about it on television. Parents, other family members and friends are forced to hear gruesome details, stories and…
Nowadays we are presumably used to hearing all kinds of tragedies from all over the world that one may not grasp the gravity of all the deaths and murders that goes on in our everyday life. But once you hear more details about a certain case, you may start feeling all sorts of emotions; from empathy towards the victim’s family, to anger, fear, and frustration as you wonder who could possible commit such ruthless, inhumane crimes. When you hear that innocent child, a loving mother or someone you can relate to was the victim of an unfortunate tragedy, you come to the realization that it could’ve been someone you know and care about in their place. Everyone wants to know what happens to the criminal, expecting that they will be held responsible for their offenses and brought to justice. The problem is that there may be times when there is a lack of evidence. As a result the criminal’s lawyer then has a chance to delay the hearing and the criminal then gets to spend years on death row living in…
Berger, R., Free, M., Searles, P. (2009). Crime, Justice, and Society: An Introduction to Criminology. Pennsylvania State University: Lynne Rienner Publishers. p331.…
Petherick, W. (2012). Crime Library: Criminal Minds and Methods. Retrieved October 1, 2012, from TruTV-Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc. A Time Warner Company: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/profiling/victimology/1.html…
In a nutshell the situation has been created with a cycle of steps which includes ‘show off’ compassion to the journalists, ‘high’ voice of holding trial of the murderers, slow ignorance of the issue, embedding media, soothing media and if not paying heed to blaming them, finding ways of wiping out the ‘meat’ of the story, showing optimism, creating entertainment and finally making public bewildered. The steps have also been propped up by a another series of steps that includes bullying the reporter, creating fear, making the media lose public faith and estimating and proving reporters a totally interest group. The steps have forced justice seekers and public dumb.…