Friday, September 21, 2007
OBSESSIVE CELEBRITY PROSECUTION
OBSESSIVE CELEBRITY PROSECUTION
Perhaps it is the level of media coverage, but it appears that prosecutors across America have become excessively preoccupied with throwing the book at well known perpetrators for lesser offenses. This appears to be true in Oklahoma, as well as more media conscious venues.
The writer’s last piece expressed concern about the continuing prosecutorial and media pillorying of Senator Stipe. It noted that the man is obviously not the brilliant, quick-witted attorney and legislator that he was in his better years. Instead of putting Stipe’s business affairs under control of a conservator to prevent further violations, the prosecutor and the legal system, cheered on by the media, appear bent upon locking up an elderly, sick man.
The case of the coach in Muskogee is a strange one. A child on a bicycle runs into the side of the coach’s car in a school parking lot, not on a street. The coach calls the father, puts the child in the care of the school nurse, and goes on to a meeting. He doesn’t think about the need to call police. So, he has charges filed, is threatened with jail time, pays a fine, faces a lawsuit, and is publicly condemned in the media.
Now, old O.J. charges back on the scene to become a public target. Guilty or not, everybody’s out to get O.J. The pundits, former L.A. prosecutors, the prosecution in Las Vegas, and his erstwhile “friends” have all turned vehemently on O.J. Apparently this is more for the murders they think he got away with than it is for any actual crime committed at the Vegas hotel.
As best we can sort through them, the facts seem to be that O.J. and friends are taken to a hotel room by a shady dealer in memorabilia, who has a key and unlocks the door. He has told them that stolen goods belonging to O.J. are there. The shady dealer takes them into the hotel room where Simpson angrily demands his property, shouts, trash talks, and threatens the man there – all of which is recorded by said shady dealer and the tape is sold to gossip media. A gun is alleged by one “victim,” but is denied by the dealer and some who accompanied Simpson.
So, O.J. is charged with armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and kidnapping with a deadly weapon, among a dozen serious charges. Some media pundits are sure he will do life in prison, while others think the case will not stand up in a fair court. “Victims,” as well as some participants, have unsavory records. This just doesn’t seem to add up to much of a crime to some of us.
We have gone through a prosecution of Paris Hilton, who received a much harsher sentence than usual “as a lesson for others,” pushed by a prosecutor who was then found with alleged dirt on his own hands. Lindsey Lohan is in the midst of a legal mess. And Brittany Spears is being pilloried by the media for various public and family offenses. All are unsympathetic characters in their legal dramas.
Of course, we pay far too much attention to reporting and coverage of such cases. Obviously the media play to our tastes, to the point of making us nauseous from ingestion of such tripe. Some celebrities make a public spectacle of irresponsible behavior, and then use legitimate remedial resources (such as rehab centers) to escape responsibility.
Too many of us excuse the unconventional behavior of celebrities, giving them license to be different than the rest of us. We then laud them with attention and adulation, and place them in a lofty position, in spite of their moral and character defects.
Nevertheless, when their irreverent behavior crosses with our laws, some take joy in their fall from high places. These then join with others to revile and to condemn. Something about this doesn’t seem right.
Dr. Edwin E. Vineyard, AKA The Militant Moderate
Perhaps it is the level of media coverage, but it appears that prosecutors across America have become excessively preoccupied with throwing the book at well known perpetrators for lesser offenses. This appears to be true in Oklahoma, as well as more media conscious venues.
The writer’s last piece expressed concern about the continuing prosecutorial and media pillorying of Senator Stipe. It noted that the man is obviously not the brilliant, quick-witted attorney and legislator that he was in his better years. Instead of putting Stipe’s business affairs under control of a conservator to prevent further violations, the prosecutor and the legal system, cheered on by the media, appear bent upon locking up an elderly, sick man.
The case of the coach in Muskogee is a strange one. A child on a bicycle runs into the side of the coach’s car in a school parking lot, not on a street. The coach calls the father, puts the child in the care of the school nurse, and goes on to a meeting. He doesn’t think about the need to call police. So, he has charges filed, is threatened with jail time, pays a fine, faces a lawsuit, and is publicly condemned in the media.
Now, old O.J. charges back on the scene to become a public target. Guilty or not, everybody’s out to get O.J. The pundits, former L.A. prosecutors, the prosecution in Las Vegas, and his erstwhile “friends” have all turned vehemently on O.J. Apparently this is more for the murders they think he got away with than it is for any actual crime committed at the Vegas hotel.
As best we can sort through them, the facts seem to be that O.J. and friends are taken to a hotel room by a shady dealer in memorabilia, who has a key and unlocks the door. He has told them that stolen goods belonging to O.J. are there. The shady dealer takes them into the hotel room where Simpson angrily demands his property, shouts, trash talks, and threatens the man there – all of which is recorded by said shady dealer and the tape is sold to gossip media. A gun is alleged by one “victim,” but is denied by the dealer and some who accompanied Simpson.
So, O.J. is charged with armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and kidnapping with a deadly weapon, among a dozen serious charges. Some media pundits are sure he will do life in prison, while others think the case will not stand up in a fair court. “Victims,” as well as some participants, have unsavory records. This just doesn’t seem to add up to much of a crime to some of us.
We have gone through a prosecution of Paris Hilton, who received a much harsher sentence than usual “as a lesson for others,” pushed by a prosecutor who was then found with alleged dirt on his own hands. Lindsey Lohan is in the midst of a legal mess. And Brittany Spears is being pilloried by the media for various public and family offenses. All are unsympathetic characters in their legal dramas.
Of course, we pay far too much attention to reporting and coverage of such cases. Obviously the media play to our tastes, to the point of making us nauseous from ingestion of such tripe. Some celebrities make a public spectacle of irresponsible behavior, and then use legitimate remedial resources (such as rehab centers) to escape responsibility.
Too many of us excuse the unconventional behavior of celebrities, giving them license to be different than the rest of us. We then laud them with attention and adulation, and place them in a lofty position, in spite of their moral and character defects.
Nevertheless, when their irreverent behavior crosses with our laws, some take joy in their fall from high places. These then join with others to revile and to condemn. Something about this doesn’t seem right.
Dr. Edwin E. Vineyard, AKA The Militant Moderate
