Media Affect in Knox Case
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Yesterday, Oct. 3, Amanda Knox was cleared for the murder of her roommate in Italy. The Knox case has had a lot of presence in the media the past few years. Has the way the media covered this trial had any impact?
In a story for CNN, Matthew Chance says that the media has fallen into two groups over the years of this case. On group that supports Amanda Knox and another group that finds her guilty.
Prosecutors state that the media helped rally support for those whole felt that Amanda Knox was innocent.
The defense attorneys believed that the media completely "crucified" Knox. They believe that Amanda was portrayed unfairly by the media.
Another problem related to this case and the media is the fact that people have forgotten or ignored Meredith Kercher the victim in the Knox case. Many journalists believe this is due to the media and public relations efforts to free Amanda Knox.
Does this case show that the media can have affect in the courtroom?
Photo: Creative Commons
2 comments:
I think that media does have an effect on the common people when it comes to court cases. The fact that Knox was declared not guilty for the murder is not enough for some people. Just by being accused of something can leave a lasting impression with people, innocent or not. But in the courtroom I don't believe the people are effected by the media since they are professionals and base their decision on evidence only, not emotion or a gut feeling.
The media should not decide the guilt or innocence of a person because that is a job for a judge or jury. Such as in the Casey Anthony murder trial or O.J. Simpson, the media hype surrounding those court cases was huge. Because the media covered this trial so much, more citizens paid attention to it. It highlighted the judicial system which is informative for the public.
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