Another famous high-profile case impacted by the media was the case of Pamela Smart. In 1990, 24-year-old Greggory Smart was fatally shot in the head by two teenage boys during a burglary gone wrong. However, as the investigation progressed we learned that his wife, 22-year-old Pamela Smart had been having an affair with 15-year-old William Flynn while her student intern, Cecelia Pierce acted as a cover (Milkovits, 2000). Several months into the affair, Pamela explained to William that they would have to stop seeing each other unless he killed her husband. She could not financially overcome a divorce plus they could split Greg’s life insurance money after he passed away (Milkovits, 2000). William, along with his friends Vance Lattime and Patrick Randall, went through with the murder while Pamela attended a work meeting (Milkovits, 2000). After one of the boys admitted to the murder, Cecelia Pierce was used as a CI in order to help the police gain enough evidence to arrest Pamela. Pamela was found guilty of accomplice first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and witness tampering and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. While all three boys accepted a plea bargain and agreed to be a witness against Pamela. They received life in prison for second degree murder but have since been released on parole (Milkovits, 2000).
This was the first murder trial in U.S. history to be filmed live and televised, interrupting regularly scheduled programs for several weeks in 1991 (Milkovits, 2000). However, the main issue with this excessive media coverage was that the media only focused on the affair and on the fact that Pamela manipulated young boys into committing murder. This led to very biased opinions which caused an unfair trial (Milkovits, 2000; Lyons, 2006). The media influenced empathy by making Pamela the monster. She was instantly demonized by the media the day she was arrested. This caused the media, public, and jury to show empathy towards the teenagers despite the fact that they were directly involved in the murder of Greggory Smart. The media and its influence on empathy completely changed the outcome of this case. The prosecutors dropped the first-degree murder charge against William Flynn to a second-degree murder charge in exchange for his testimony against Pamela Smart. There was zero empathy shown towards Pamela. Everyone across the nation agreed she deserved to die in prison for her actions (Milkovits, 2000).
Marisa Miller
References
Lyons, Cr. (2006, April 20). ‘Media circus’ atmosphere aggravated case. Keene Equinox. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20160502185202/http://hampton.lib.nh.us/hampton/biog/pamsmart/equinox2006_4.htm
Milkovits, A. (2000, April 30). The Pam Smart Case- 10 Years Later. Foster’s Daily Democrat. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20210116214108/http:/www.hampton.lib.nh.us/hampton/biog/pamsmart/pamsmart10.htm
In response to two of your peers, compare and contrast how the media influenced empathy in your case and in theirs. Consider the following in your comparison:
- Are there any similarities in the two cases, such as how the media was used or who was affected by the media?
- Explain how the case outcome could have been different if the media had not influenced empathy in the case they chose.
- Provide any additional insights or thoughts regarding the case and how the media influenced empathy.