Does the portrayal of violence in the media affect human behaviour? Should we be concerned about violence in computer games, books and film? These questions are being asked more often as games in particular grow ever more realistic. The US Supreme Court recently debated whether video games are worse than films and books because they …
Continue reading “Violence in Films and Computer Games: Guest Blog”
The cult film noir Detour has an unusual take on murder. The ‘hero’ is neither a hardened criminal or an innocent man fighting for justice. Instead the main character, hitchhiker Al Roberts, asks us to believe that he has accidentally become a double killer. Watching it was a bit like listening in court to a …
Reading the recent stories about plans to introduce US-style murder charges to the UK, it seems very few people understand how our system works. It began with Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, joining calls for the offence to be split into first and second degree murder – first degree for intentional killing and second degree …
It seems like a rare event, a freak occurrence – an innocent person is hit with a single punch and falls back on to the pavement, striking their head hard on the ground. Tragically they suffer a fractured skull and brain damage and die within a few days despite advanced medical treatment. That is exactly …
How many people know Jon Venables’ new identity? Well, for a start, everybody who was in court 14 of the Old Bailey last Friday morning. Given the number of times we were told his life was under threat, it was a big surprise to hear the name he adopted in 2001 being read out by the …
