Media and the Criminal Justice System Essay

Media has a voiceless influence on todays society and the criminal practicedness system. Interaction with the media continues to create problems in overcoming the racial disparities in this nation, over cod to nuisance that is committed by heathenish minorities in the media increasing racial stereotypes. Media excessively has a great influence and disadvantages regarding high profile criminal exemplars, modify the way Ameri clears view the criminal arbiter system.High characterization to the discussion and entertainment media has been proven it increase misgiving,which back end rise the offensive pass judgment in communities. In any case, when turning on the watchword and aspect through the pages of a local news showpaper, minorities , mostly Afri give the sack-Ameri wads are the central focus of abuse ,creating the portal that ingloriouss are the main source of crime in our nation (see figure 1). The graph below shows the increasing sum up of blue on black crimes over the years.A 2007 special report released by the Bureau of evaluator Statistics, reveals that approximately 8,000 and, in certain years, as many a(prenominal) as 9,000 Afri nooky Americans are murdered annually in the unify States .The media has led to racial stereotypes of African-Americans due to the amount of black on black crime that is reported everyday. Fig. 1. Homicide victims by race and gender of the victims 1933-2005Department of Justice Report2007More so, informing the semipublic of what occurred instead of solutions to the problem. This issue results to a misunderstanding by the viewer who assumes that the images and facts portrayed are representations of racial groups as a whole, instead of those particular people that are being mentioned. prove moreAdvantages and Disadvantages of Mass CommunicationThe media can in addition influence the impartiality enforcement opinion of blacks, they feel been many illegal actions on the basis of an somebody race an d ethnicity known as racial write. In addition,victims who are an ethnic minority are rarely featured on the news, un interchangeable Caucasic victims who claim the spotlight in media entertainment. Such as the murder of Teryvon Martin. As a result, of the medias false portrayals of crime and offenders has resulted in the continuation of prejudicial beliefs in our country. The main point of this issue is the problem of racial profiling that exists in various communities within our society including the criminal justice system.However, media insurance coverage or press attention in criminal cases poses its advantages and disadvantages. furtherance can cause unknown witnesses to come forward so that their information whitethorn be considered and the facts correctly determined. It can also supporter to ensure that the soulfulness who is charged is being treated fairly by subjecting their decisions to the public. Media coverage can also provide the encouragement for needed chang es in the criminal justice system . Media in criminal cases can also have its disadvantages. Publicity may cause some labels or prosecutors, particularly those who moldiness re elected , to act in a manner to help his or her votes rather than in the manner of fairness and justice. The media can also influence the jurors decision.There are impartialitys that protects a jury from being influenced by media reporting, but there have been situations where criminal cases hear claims that a defendant cannot get a fair trial because of the media. These concerns are taken ill by judges and also by reporters and editors who can face enslavement for compromising the legal process. Yet there has been many opinions from lawyers and journalists, that most juries are sophisticated enough to ignore media reports when they are asked to return a verdict.There have been many high profile cases where the media influence the public and exposed themselves in a negative manner , as well as cognizan t the public of the wrongdoing of the criminal justice system. For example, The Treyvon Martin case exposed the bastinado in the media. Similar to what I stated in the beginning of this paper.The media rarely broadcast victims that are African-American. It took one month for the Treyvon Martin shooting to air on the news. Another incident that shows the lack of equity in the media, is the tv of George Zimmerman arriving at the police station. After ABC News aeriform surveillance video of George Zimmerman, entering a police precinct without any apparent injuries, another news program enhanced still images from the video and concluding that it found what may be an injury to the back of his head.The sites photo analysis photoshopped the back of Zimmermans head with yellow arrows and stated this itindicates what appears to be a vertical laceration or scar several inches long. These statements were lately deemed as false. As, I mentioned above, the media can inform the public of the wrongdoing in the criminal justice system. The Drew Peterson trial allowed hearsay to be presented as evidence in the case,though hearsay is stated as unconstitutional. A change in the law was made in order to use the hearsay against him. The media informed the public of the matter.The Daily Center is also the same news program that promulgated the 152 pages of Martins tweets from a social networking site known as Tweeter. The judge, Debra S. Nelson of Seminole County term of enlistment Court, said Mr. Martins Twitter, Facebook and school records were relevant in the self-defense case. The media influenced the judge to allow the tweets to analyze Martins personality , which might have been seen as a typical high school male, centre on girls, finish and getting out of class early, or to be used against him in order to show whether a victim had an alleged propensity to emphasis or aggression, the judge said. Similar to any other teenager his tweets focused on ditching school and girls, using them in a criminal case is a bias approach to the situation.Another show, The Today Show underwent an cozy investigation from NBC regarding the editorial process after its morning show aired an edited conversation between George Zimmerman and a 911 dispatcher recorded earlier the shooting. The investigation came after Fox News and others pointed out that the network linked two parts of the call together, making it appear as if Zimmerman had said, This computed axial tomography looks like hes up to no good. He looks black. In reality, Zimmerman was answering a dispatchers question Zimmerman This guy looks like hes up to no good. Or hes on drugs or something. Its raining and hes just walking around, looking about. Dispatcher OK, and this guyis he black, white or Hispanic? Zimmerman He looks black.(02 April 2012)The actions that the media took influenced the public and the courts and showed the negative aspects of allowing the media to inform the public. This case in p articular showed the amount of racism, lack of integrity that exist in media entertainment. The headache of crime can be associated with media exposure. The media in general campaigns to exaggerate the crime . For example, the crime that you are more likely to see on the news are in relation to gun violence, the same thing can be found on the internet and newspaper. Crime through media is intend to draw the reader in, and interest them. Yet a daily exposure can encourage fear in the viewer. The fear of crime can outweigh the actual risks.Those who are in fear of crime tend to stay home rather than venture outdoors, this can increase the amount of crime. Signs of incivility in a community rises the crime rate due to criminals being drawn to communities where they perceive a lack of of social aver by local residents(p.281). Another reason for promoting a certain fear of crime is money. By increasing the idea of violent crime, the dominant coating are more likely to invest in certa in protections.The media lacks integrity due to broadcasting stories that attacks the reputation of African-Americans and other ethnic minorities. They exaggerate stories that can create moral panic and this can also be seen as a way of retardling how the public behaves. Racial profiling is associated with the media due to people seeing mostly blacks committed crimes. Mass media can control the outcome of criminal cases by brainwashing the jurors, controlling the verdict of the case. The consanguinity between media and crime creates strong influence on the publics view of crime and the criminal justice system, overall having a power influence on both. Works Cited