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Reflections On Motion Picture Evidence, Brian L. Frye
Reflections On Motion Picture Evidence, Brian L. Frye
Law Faculty Scholarly Articles
Courts have long admitted motion pictures as evidence. But until recently, making motion pictures was expensive and cumbersome. Today, making motion pictures is cheap and easy. And as a result, people make so many of them. As Cocteau predicted, the democratization of motion pictures has enabled people to create new forms of motion picture art. But it has also enabled people to create new forms of motion picture evidence. This article offers a brief history of motion picture evidence in the United States, and reflects on the use of motion picture evidence by the Supreme Court.
Celluloid Death: Cinematic Depictions Of Capital Punishment, Roberta M. Harding
Celluloid Death: Cinematic Depictions Of Capital Punishment, Roberta M. Harding
Law Faculty Scholarly Articles
This essay will examine how two filmmakers used the cinema to investigate death penalty issues through the films Dead Man Walking and Last Light. These films were selected because of their similarities: capital punishment is the central theme of both films; the presence of a strong principal character who is the condemned inmate; the utilization of a character who undergoes a spiritual transformation due to interaction with the condemned inmate; the decision to have this character facilitate the humanization of the condemned individual; and the additional role this character plays as the audiences' conscience. There are, however, differences in the …