• Latest

Captivated: the Trials of Pamela Smart ***1/2

September 2, 2014
Student Artwork Graces Downtown Storefront

Student Artwork Graces Downtown Storefront

May 17, 2022
Vermont Plants Sunflowers for Ukraine Solidarity Update

Vermont Plants Sunflowers for Ukraine Solidarity Update

May 17, 2022

Upper Valley Everyone Eats Returns to Gifford in May

May 17, 2022
African Queen (1951)

Some Like it Hot (1959)

May 17, 2022
Just Some Thoughts

A Million Little Miracles

May 17, 2022
Young Wildlife Belong in the Wild

Young Wildlife Belong in the Wild

May 10, 2022
Make-A-Wish® Crowns Best Beard in Vermont and Raises Over $90,000 at Sixth Annual Vermont Beardies

Make-A-Wish® Crowns Best Beard in Vermont and Raises Over $90,000 at Sixth Annual Vermont Beardies

May 10, 2022
“Washington WORLD” Turns 50

“Washington WORLD” Turns 50

May 10, 2022
African Queen (1951)

Late Spring (1949)

May 10, 2022

Vermonters Turn In Nearly 3.5 Tons of Unneeded Medication on Prescription Drug Take Back Day

May 10, 2022

Legislators Condemn Anti-LGBTQ+ Violence

May 3, 2022
African Queen (1951)

The Lost Weekend (1945)

May 3, 2022
  • Home
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
The World Online
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
    • Weddings & Engagements
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
    • Weddings & Engagements
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
The World Online
No Result
View All Result

Captivated: the Trials of Pamela Smart ***1/2

vt-world by vt-world
September 2, 2014
in Max's View
0

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye… she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. -Genesis 3:6

 

Blaming women for men’s sins is part of the human condition; at least as old as the Bible.

Sometimes the criminal justice system works just like Genesis: railroading and condemning a mostly innocent woman for our pleasure and amusement.

One of the reasons why women are rightly called the “fairer sex” is that they are very rarely the perpetrators of unprovoked violence. On the rare occasion that a woman – especially a young, good-looking woman – is involved in a violent crime, the media is eager to follow the story. And the public is eager to see the woman humbled and convicted.

The thought-provoking HBO documentary “Captivated: the Trials of Pamela Smart” tells the upsetting story of a 1991 trial in which a likely innocent woman was slandered, defamed, and given an unjustifiably extreme prison sentence.

The story begins in 1990. Pamela Smart – a 23-year-old New Hampshire woman – discovered that her husband had been shot to death in a home invasion.

This immediately became a big local story, both because there are very few unsolved murders in Northern New England and because the young widow was photogenic and happy to give interviews.

The case became a lot more lurid when it was discovered that the killers were three teenage boys, one of whom was sleeping with Pamela Smart.

In an instant, Pamela Smart went from victim to viper – from Madonna to whore. The media portrayed Smart as a black widow who seduced the innocent boys and manipulated them to commit the murder.

Newspapers printed racy photos of Smart in her underwear, alleging that she gave the teens the pics to lure them into her evil scheme. The movie reveals that the photos were actually taken with some of Smart’s female friends as part of an innocent drunken dare and never shared with the killers.

Four years before OJ, the trial was the first televised murder case in U.S. history. And lovely young Pamela Smart was the star.

The state agreed to give the teenage killers a lighter sentence in exchange for their cooperation and testimony against Smart.

Documentarian Jeremiah Zagar convincingly argues that the media told such a seductive conspiracy story that Pamela Smart’s defense team couldn’t compete. The jury – which was never sequestered – found Smart guilty of conspiracy to commit first degree murder. She is serving a life sentence without possibility of parole.

The film left me with the impression that Pamela Smart was guilty of nothing more than bad taste in boyfriends.

But no matter what Smart is guilty of, it is an outrageous travesty that a woman who was nowhere near the scene of the crime got a harsher sentence than the people who actually pulled the trigger.

I’m even going to take it a step further: I’m not sure that it makes sense to imprison women who hurt their husbands under most circumstances. If a woman who has no criminal background assaults her husband, he probably asked for it to some extent. More importantly, the wife almost certainly doesn’t pose a threat to the general public. I think we as a society should only waste $100,000s and ruin a woman’s life by sending her to prison if she is a real danger to the community.

If a woman is guilty of hurting her husband and nothing more, I think a fair punishment is to make her get a tattoo that reads: “Attention suitors: date this woman at your own risk.” That is a real punishment and it adequately protects the people that are truly at risk of being attacked by her.

I don’t expect you to go along with my tattoo punishment idea. But I hope that the next time you see a news story about a “temptress” or a “black widow,” you’ll consider the likelihood that the woman is being unfairly defamed like Eve or Pamela Smart.

Previous Post

Duxbury

Next Post

Reiss’ Pieces

Next Post

Reiss’ Pieces

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This Week’s Ads

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
The World
403 US Route 302
Barre, VT 05641
Phone: (802) 479-2582

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

No Result
View All Result
  • Art Exhibits
  • Audit and Reader Surveys
  • Births
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Daily Horoscope
  • Fall Guide
  • Food & Recipe
  • Home
  • Obituaries
  • Ongoing Events
  • Pay Your Bill Here
  • Senior Living Edition
  • Showtimes
  • Submit Birth Announcement
  • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
  • Submit Engagement Announcement
  • Submit Listing to our Local Directory
  • Submit Sports News/Photo
  • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Testimonials
  • The World Coupons
  • Weather Forecast
  • World Deadlines
  • World Distribution Map
  • World Rate Card
  • World Rates and Ad Sizes
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
  • About Us
  • Vermont Lottery
  • Advertising Information
  • The World Staff
  • Advertising Inquiry
  • Submit Letter To The Editor
  • Local Directory
  • Poll Results
  • Local Deals
  • Classifieds
  • Submit An Article To The World
  • Events
  • The World – This Week’s Online Digital Edition
  • The World Auto & Sports

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In