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Jody Wasserman a Thesis THE PRESS AND ASHLEY SMITH: POWER, KNOWLEDGE, AND THE PRODUCTION OF TRUTH ABOUT A DEATH IN CUSTODY By: Jody Wasserman A Thesis Submitted to Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Criminology July, 2013, Halifax, Nova Scotia © Copyright by Jody Wasserman, 2013 Approved: Dr. John McMullan Supervisor Approved: Dr. Ashley Carver Second Reader Approved: Dr. Susan Boyd External Examiner Date: July 25th, 2013 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to recognize the following people for their contribution in the completion of this Master’s thesis: To Dr. McMullan and Dr. Carver for their commitment, wisdom, and endless patience. I am so grateful for your invaluable knowledge and assistance throughout this learning experience. To Dr. Crocker, for helping me overcome my “imposter syndrome”. Thank you for your support and guidance over the past three years, without it I would not be where I am today. To my Dad for introducing me to the field of Criminology. Thank you for helping me realize that there is nothing to fear but fear itself. To my Mom for always believing in me, even when I did not believe in myself. Thank you for providing me with the continuous (tough) love and encouragement I needed to complete this challenging journey in one piece. To my brother Michael for pushing me to take the next step in my academic career and for always having a solution to my problems. Thank you for always being there when I need you. To my friends for giving me so much emotional support over the past two years, thank you for putting up with my anxieties, frustrations, and the occasional nervous breakdown. I will forever be in your debt. To my animals, Puffy, Tequila, and Yoshi, for the countless hours you kept me company as I sat at my desk and stared at my computer. Thank you for always putting a smile on my face, and for preventing me from going insane. And to my brother Jamie, the inspiration for my thesis, I dedicate this to you. Thank you for providing me with strength and motivation every day, even when skies were grey. THE PRESS AND ASHLEY SMITH: POWER, KNOWLEDGE, AND THE PRODUCTION OF TRUTH ABOUT A DEATH IN CUSTODY By Jody Wasserman ABSTRACT: This research project examines the production of power and knowledge within print media representations of the Ashley Smith case. Smith was a teenager from New Brunswick who killed herself in a Canadian federal prison under the direct observation of seven prison guards. I analyze five regional newspapers and one national newspaper to provide an analysis of how the case was constructed in the news over a five-year period. I incorporate Michele Foucault’s concepts of discourse, power, and resistance, along with Stanley Cohen’s theories on “states of denial”, to explain how knowledge about the case was manufactured, interpreted, and circulated by the press to create three “regimes of truth” about Smith’s death in custody over time: accidental death, preventable death, and unnecessary death. I argue that the government deployed a vocabulary of denial of which the media became increasingly skeptical. Their strategies to evade accountability contributed to continuities and discontinuities in the sourcing and framing of the news, where accounts from above could more easily become discredited and challenged by accounts from below. Ultimately I demonstrate how and to what effects the media was able to define Smith’s death, and provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between news discourse, news sources, and the exercise of power and resistance. Table of Contents Page # I. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 The Ashley Smith Case .................................................................................................... 2 Media and the Truth about Ashley Smith ................................................................ 9 Chapter Outline ................................................................................................................ 11 II. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework .................................................. 13 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 13 Media, Crime, and News Discourse .......................................................................... 14 Cohen and States of Denial .......................................................................................... 28 Foucault and Discourse, Power and Resistance .................................................. 33 Foucault and the Media ................................................................................................. 41 Summary and Conclusion ............................................................................................ 46 III. Methodology...................................................................................................................... 48 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 48 The Case Study ................................................................................................................. 49 Content and Discourse Analysis ................................................................................ 51 Sampling Strategies ........................................................................................................ 58 Coding the Data ................................................................................................................ 61 Summary and Conclusion ............................................................................................ 67 IV. The Representation of the Ashley Smith Case in the Press ............................. 69 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 69 News Production of the Ashley Smith Case........................................................... 70 Newsworthiness of the Ashley Smith Case ........................................................... 73 News Sources and Claimsmaking in the Ashley Smith Case ........................... 98 News Discourses and the Ashley Smith Case .................................................... 102 Summary and Conclusion ......................................................................................... 107 V. The Press and the Production of the Truth about Ashley Smith................ 110 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 110 The Press Representation of Smith as “Mad” vs. “Bad”, Implicatory Denial, and the Production of the Accidental Death Regime of Truth ......................................................................... 111 Criminal Justice Failure Stories, Passive Denial and the Production of the Preventable Death Regime of Truth ................. 121 Moral/Medical Discourse, Interpretive Denial, and the Production of the Unnecessary Death Regime of Truth ................ 127 Summary and Conclusion .......................................................................................... 136 VI. Conclusion, Epilogue and Future Research ........................................................ 141 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 141 Epilogue: The Reporting of the Ashley Smith Case in 2013 ......................... 145 Recommendations for Future Research .............................................................. 147 References ....................................................................................................................... 150 I. INTRODUCTION Introduction This research project examines the relationship between discourse, power, and resistance within print media representations of the Ashley Smith case. Smith was a teenager from New Brunswick who killed herself in a Canadian federal prison under the direct observation of seven prison guards. Since the role of the media is to inform and shape our knowledge about the criminal justice system, the circulation of the ‘facts’ of an event such as a death in custody attracts an enormous amount of public scrutiny regarding correctional institutions and criminal justice policies (Welch, Weber and Edwards 2000: 247). Not surprisingly, competing constructions of the ‘truth’ often circulate regarding such deaths. Politicians and bureaucrats often try to manage accountability and protect political reputations by denying, re- interpreting, or downplaying the reality of these tragedies. However, their disavowals are sometimes challenged by less prominent groups trying to fight for human rights, social justice and policy reform. The media becomes a powerful site in deciding which claims to disseminate, which claims to emphasize, and how claims will be framed to fit within the organizational constrains of news discourse. As a result, the media is able to influence social and cultural perceptions, actions and reactions towards these events. Thus, the intersection between discourse, power, and resistance, is of utmost importance when examining a controversial case such as Ashley Smith's, because it enables us to better understand the media’s role in the production of knowledge and the management of social control.
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