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Manifestations of Moral Panics in the Sentencing of Palm Islander Lex Wotton

Thalia Anthony
University of Sydney - Faculty of Law

Current Issues in Criminal Justice, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 466-475, 2009
Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 09/39

Abstract:
This Comment considers the sentencing of Palm Islander man, Lex Patrick Wotton, for his involvement in the protest following the death in custody of Mulrunji. It examines the protest as a response to the police role in the death and the police mishandling of the consequent investigation. The Comment critiques the media trial that paralleled Wotton's court trial. The mainstream media, along with the Queensland Government and police union, produced a moral panic over the Palm Island protest that overshadowed the death in custody. This Comment argues that the court that sentenced Wotton appropriated the moral panic over the offence to remove the death in custody as a sentencing factor.

Keywords: policing, criminal sentencing, Indigenous people

JEL Classifications: K10, K14, K30

Accepted Paper Series

Date posted: May 15, 2009 ; Last revised: May 19, 2009

Suggested Citation

Anthony, Thalia, Manifestations of Moral Panics in the Sentencing of Palm Islander Lex Wotton (May 14, 2009). Current Issues in Criminal Justice, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 466-475, 2009; Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 09/39. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1404402

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Contact Information

Thalia Anthony (Contact Author)

University of Sydney - Faculty of Law ( email )

2001 Sheridan Rd.,
Leverone, 354B
Evanston, IL 60208
United States