Media Inadvertently Convicts UVA Lacrosse Player Of “Murder”

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by Steve Krakauer | 6:05 pm, May 7th, 2010

» 11 comments

The death of UVA lacrosse player Yeardley Love is certainly a tragedy, and fellow UVA student George Huguely has been charged with murder.

But the media is often loose with the description of the death – sometimes referring to it as a “murder” – and the implication becomes that Huguely is guilty.

The thing that this makes the case different than other murder cases is that Huguely has admitted to causing her harm. But his lawyer maintains Love’s death was “not intended but an accident with a tragic outcome.” In other words – his defense is that there wasn’t a murder at all.

But that’s not the way the media has always played it. The news networks, cable and broadcast, have repeatedly described Love’s death as a “murder” (video below), as have print outlets. There’s an important distinction between saying Huguely is being charged with murder and that the death is in fact a murder. Because of the circumstances, if the media refers to it as a murder it is effectively convicting Huguely.

Is it nitpicking? Maybe. But it’s certainly important, as the facts of the case continue to emerge.

Check out this mash-up of TV news using the term “murder” in various contexts. Note the difference between calling the death a murder versus describing what he was charged with:

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George Huguely, UVA, Yeardley Love

http://www.anonymousfinch.com AnonymousFinch

I don’t know anything about Virginia law specifically, but in some jurisdictions the crime might be considered third degree murder if you credit what his lawyer is claiming. So it could be “murder” even if it was accidental, depending on the circumstances.
lucyreddy

I do not have idea.I want to know was Lacrosse equipment used, or did the death occur whilst playing lacrosse?
m3 ds
lazzzlo

I gues it is all how you turn a phrase. A lawyer calls the event “not intended but an accident with a tragic outcome.” while the police view it as “blunt force trauma” that led them to open up a murder investigation.
connoreedi

A thorough investigation should be ordered in this murder to bring the culprit to book.
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timzank

Let’s see, I bashed her head against the wall until she died. Hmmmmm….What description best fits my actions? Hmmmm…
Integr8d

You mean the media manipulates public opinion? Nahhhhh…
Nachi

I can’t guarantee that Huguely will die if I push him out of a plane at 40,000 feet. But the statistics are impressive.
MAB

The REAL crime of the media in this story is that they, once again, found a beautiful, young WHITE woman who was abused and/or murdered by someone she knew inherently (obviously) more important or newsworthy than a beautiful BLACK woman who was abused and/or murdered by someone she knew.

The racial bias of the media is never so obvious as it is with these “beautiful young white woman murdered” stories. It’s disgusting.
lazzzlo

“Because of the circumstances, if the media refers to it as a murder it is effectively convicting Huguely.”

Another way of describing the events other than quoting police reports/investigation summaries is to use the word “alleged”.
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kmic

Yes, murder is quite a strong word…how about something a little more accurate: slaughter…