Thursday, August 16, 2012

Do criminals who are celebrities side step the law?

                     "Justice is tempered with mercy, but it still maintains a sense of retribution "
People get convicted and sentenced for their crimes despite their celebrity status which proves the very fact that no one is above law. When celebrities commit crimes just like any other criminal  they go through the same trial and the celebrities are well aware of it. Being financially equipped and able to hire the best lawyers does not mean they are given special treatment.

In fact contrary to that the celebrity cases are subject  to more harsher sentences and inconsideration. This is done to set exemplary cases for normal citizens who look up to these celebrities. For e.g the Wesley Snipes case who charged of defrauding and claiming false tax refunds. He was sentenced to 3 years prison which was the harshest statement considering his crime. When defense lawyers urged leniency, prosecutors argued that Snipes made an example because of his fame.

The Mumbai bomb blasts of 1993 which involved Sanjay Dutt was a high profile celebrity crime case in India. The leniency plea was rejected and Sanjay Dutt was given a 6 year jail term. These criminal cases are hyped by media and the limelight given to these cases affect the prosecution process immensely. No other rapist in India has grabbed so much of attention and made it to the front page besides Shiney Ahuja. Media takes the advantage of a critical situation to slander celebrities and dig for gossip. Many times false accusations on celebrities are blown out of proportions for the sake of cheap publicity by media.
It is easy to ridicule and make a mockery of celebrities for the slightest mistake they commit and yet we often tend to forget that each day they face a billion eyes waiting for them to falter. Crime offenders who are celebrities do not take law for granted merely because they will be condoned for their status.Instead, they need to be more wary & calculating of their images even with each tweet!

When Salman Khan underwent a trial for poaching which was stressed by the Bishnoi tribe who are protectors of endangered species i.e Black buck, he was sent to jail for 15 days whereas there are numerous cases of illegal hunting & poaching that go unheard.

Loopholes in judiciary system are misused by high profile acquittals but to directly blame the celebrity side stepping law will be an overstatement.    

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