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A University of Sussex PhD thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details CAPTURED RED HANDED: THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE EVOLVING CONCEPTS OF THE CRIMINAL DEFENDANT AND THE PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE RACHEL GIMSON PHD LAW STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX FEBRUARY 2017 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. Acknowledgements A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this thesis. Not all of them mine. Thank you to all those who contributed to the gruesome potion of high emotions, hard graft and a significant amount of caffeine. There are too many of you to mention here, but know that I’m eternally grateful that you touched my life during my time as a research student. You made it just that little bit better. There are those who deserve to be mentioned specifically. To my supervisors: Professor Richard Vogler for taking my unusual approach to research in his stride and only gently mocking the fact that I changed topics so often (I still dispute this). Dr John Child for making me enthusiastic about my research and for never making me feel like I was intruding when I knocked on his door (which was often). To my family: For their support and unwavering belief that I could finish this. Thank you for giving up your weekends and holidays in order to help resolve whatever crisis had developed as a result of this thesis. To Anne Wesemann for always being there and for providing cake. Contents Introduction 1 The Presumption of Innocence: The Litmus Test for Due Process Erosion.........................................3 The Role of the Media in Establishing Guilt: The 9/11 Example.........................................................6 The Influence of News on Perceptions of Crime and the Defendant..................................................10 Trial by Media...................................................................................................................................13 Social Media’s Role in Crime News..................................................................................................16 The Role of Social Media in Establishing “Guilt”............................................................................19 Why Does This Matter? The Moral Mandate Effect..........................................................................22 Thesis Structure................................................................................................................................25 Chapter One: The Changing Role of the Defendant in History 28 Setting the Boundaries of the Historical Analysis.............................................................................30 Section One: Communal, Reconciliatory Justice.........................................................................33 The Anglo-Norman Defendant as Keeper of the Peace.............................................................35 The Ordeals and the Law of Proofs...........................................................................................37 The Ordeals as a Method of Penance and Reconciliation.........................................................38 Section Two: The Roman Canon Method.....................................................................................40 Section Three: The Jury Trial........................................................................................................44 The Self-Informing Jury............................................................................................................45 The Instructional Jury..............................................................................................................47 The Impact of Prosecutorial Bias on the Role of the Defendant................................................50 The Impact of the Jury on the English Criminal Defendant......................................................54 Section Four: Adversariality..........................................................................................................55 The Influence of Defence Counsel............................................................................................58 The Rise in Defence Counsel....................................................................................................61 The Entrenchment of the Adversarial Process..........................................................................64 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................68 Chapter Two: The Spectacle of the Trial; How the Media Impacts Perceptions of Justice 71 Section One: The Legacy of the Spectacle of Punishment............................................................74 Section Two: How Social Media Effects Public Engagement with Crime..................................78 Social Media and the Communal Connection to Crime News...................................................79 Media Imagery..........................................................................................................................84 Moral Mandates and the Negation of Fair Process..................................................................86 Section Three: How Does Crime News Impact Public Perceptions?...........................................89 Why Read Crime News?...........................................................................................................90 Newsworthiness........................................................................................................................94 The Impact of Media Reporting Bias on Due Process: Trial by Media.....................................97 Section Four: Analysing Crime News............................................................................................98 The Hierarchy of Credibility..................................................................................................100 Inferential Structures..............................................................................................................102 Reporting Structures of the News Media and the Power of Social Media: A Case Study on the G20 Protests...........................................................................................................................103 Conclusion..................................................................................................................................107 Chapter Three: The Influence of Social Media on the Role of Domestic Defendant 110 Case Studies in Detail.............................................................................................................111 The Boston Marathon Bombings...................................................................................111 The Woolwich Killing....................................................................................................113 Section One: News Media Reporting of the Case Studies...........................................................114 Media Portrayals of the Crimes..............................................................................................116 Media Portrayals of the Defendants: Was there a Presumption of Guilt?...............................123 Section Two: The Role of Social Media.......................................................................................134 The Influence of