“the publicity has shifted to the
trial, and to the sentence; the execution itself is like an
additional shame that justice is ashamed to impose on the condemned
man; so it keeps its distance from the act, tending always to entrust
it to others, under the seal of secrecy”
I would tend to agree with this
sentiment, and while the death penalty is still an issue today you do
not necessarily hear much discussed about it. In 2010, there was an
execution here in Washington state, and I do not remember (or did not
notice) much if any media coverage beyond a casual remark on the
evening news.
Also I would most certainly agree that the trial and sentencing has become the most publicized, with trials like O.J Simpson (both of them), Blagojevich, and Bernie Madoff just to name a few. You hear about the trial and sentencing and then they fade from public view.
I think this is generally true as well. Society and the justice system do not seem to want to be involved in the act. Furthermore, the act itself seems to carry some shame. For example, if there was no shame felt then we would most likely just take the person out and shoot them. However, instead there are expensive injections used in the process to make the passing more peaceful (maybe).
ReplyDeleteThe reason I don't think this is discussed very often is for a few reasons. The first being the aforementioned shame. The second being that it is not a national issue. This issue has become a definite state issue. I think this leads to less discussion compared to national issues. The other issue is the overwhelming view that inmates are invalids in some way. In many states we don't even guarantee them the right to vote, even after they have served their time. Moreover, people are fearful of hiring someone with a criminal record. Treating convicts as if they are not people makes us not discuss issues that are relevant to them.
I don't think Foucault in 75' could have forseen the extent trials and increasingly tabloid journalism have become the morality tales of today. Of course there is publicity of trials but increasingly the investigation, simply the accusation of wrong doing on our iconographic celebrities is another shift in our society that I think Foucault misses.
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