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Captured red handed: the impact of social media on the evolving concepts of the criminal defendant and the presumption of innocence

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posted on 2023-06-09, 05:30 authored by Rachel Gimson
Advances in media technology has made it possible for crimes to be documented and commented upon in real-time. Increasingly, crimes are being recorded as they occur by the public on mobile devices and uploaded onto the Internet for global commentary. This public discussion of criminal activities is supplemented by an increasingly pervasive and moralistic media commentary on criminal activity. As a result, guilt can appear to be predetermined through a trial by media and substantiated by apparent “proof” before the individual comes to trial. This thesis considers how such “evidence” of guilt alters perceptions of the defendant and role of the criminal trial in determining guilt. Applying the theory of genealogy, we analyse the role the English defendant has played in the criminal trial and identify that the concept of the defendant is changeable and has been influenced by external pressures. Using the theory of moral mandates this changeable role of the defendant is tested through a qualitative analysis of newspaper commentary and posts on Twitter and YouTube. Two case studies are considered (the Boston Marathon bombing and the Woolwich murder), representing crimes tried in domestic criminal courts. These are compared with one case study of an international crime (allegations against Gaddafi’s tactics during the Libyan civil war to consider the impact of social media on international criminal trials. Through this analysis this thesis identifies some pressure points where social media “evidence”, supplemented by crime news commentary could facilitate another change in the role of the defendant, through the erosion of the presumption of innocence.

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  • Published version

Pages

283.0

Department affiliated with

  • Law Theses

Qualification level

  • doctoral

Qualification name

  • phd

Language

  • eng

Institution

University of Sussex

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  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2017-03-17

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