Miscarriages of justice in the age of social media: the Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito innocence campaign

The role of the media in exposing miscarriages of justice has not been extensively researched and even less is known about the contribution of the Internet and social media. Drawing on in-depth interviews with innocence campaigners, this article examines the social media campaign to overturn the con...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gies, Lieve (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2017
In: The British journal of criminology
Year: 2017, Volume: 57, Issue: 3, Pages: 723-740
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Keywords:
Wrongful conviction
Internet
Media
Pressure groups
Qualitative research method
Fehlurteil
Justizirrtum
Interessenverbände
Soziale Medien
Einflußfaktoren
Mass media and criminal justice
Description
Summary:The role of the media in exposing miscarriages of justice has not been extensively researched and even less is known about the contribution of the Internet and social media. Drawing on in-depth interviews with innocence campaigners, this article examines the social media campaign to overturn the conviction of Amanda Knox and her co-accused Raffaele Sollecito for the murder of Meredith Kercher in Perugia in 2007. It explores the campaigners’ use of different media platforms. It also examines their motivations in joining and supporting the campaign and discusses the campaign’s contributions and social dynamics. Finally, it elucidates the factors that shaped supporters’ belief in the innocence of Knox and Sollecito.
ISSN:1464-3529
DOI:10.1093/bjc/azw017