Media treatment of hate as an aggravating circumstance for sentencing: the Criminal Code amendment and the Miloszewski case

ID:	HARP-160
Title:	Media treatment of hate as an aggravating circumstance for sentencing: the Criminal Code amendment and the Miloszewski case
Source:	Canadian Ethnic Studies, v.34(1) 2002 pg 30-50.
Parties:
Dispute Resolution Organ:
Year:	2002
Pages:	0
Author(s):
Keywords:	Canada, equality before the law, human rights, racism, civil and political rights, violence, security, print media, media, minority rights, liberty
Abstract:	This paper critically examines how the print media contribute to a bifurcated understanding of racism and racially motivated violence. Of particular interest is how the print media simultaneously reject and support racism in its reporting of hate as an aggravating sentencing circumstance in the racially motivated homicide of a Sikh caretaker in Surrey, B.C. (R. v. Miloszewski [1999] B.C.J. No. 2710 (B.C. Prov. Ct.)). Sixty-two newspaper items relating to this case were reviewed for the analysis. The findings reveal that the print media rely primarily on criminal justice officials to animate their coverage of R. v. Miloszewski. Although the print media support legislative measures to denounce racially motivated hate (subparagraph 718.2(a)(i) of the Criminal Code of Canada), they pathologize and individualize the offenders in the Miloszewski case. Instead of understanding and reporting about the crime within its broader socio-cultural context, the media “explain-away” the incident by suggesting the crime is linked to the pathological behaviour of aberrant ‘skinheads’. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of pathologizing the offence and suggests strategies for overcoming the contradictory reporting of racism and hate in the print media.
Secured:	False
Download Article:	Available here