2008 Woodie Awards
The Ghost of Dr. Sam
Craig Lyons
Issue date: 4/20/06 Section: Justice in New Hampshire
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The brutal murder of Marilyn Sheppard rocked the sleepy suburb of Bay View, Ohio and soon became the obsession of the media, the people of Cleveland and the rest of the United States. After three trials over the course of five decades, questions still linger about the killer's identity.
Almost 36 years after the Sheppard murder, an equally shocking murder enveloped New Hampshire. On May 1, 1990 the trigger was pulled and the bullet killed Greg Smart, the case quickly became the 1990s version of media and public fixation on the crime, the victims and the accused.
Both cases reflect the dynamics, intentions and collisions between the public's right to know and a defendant's right to a fair trial. And that intersection of rights in both cases was the media coverage of the two murder cases.
After Pam Smart was convicted, she began a lengthy appeals process. Throughout Smart's appeals process, her legal team contended the extent of the media coverage prevented her from a fair trial, particularly since it was televised live throughout the state.
"This was a concrete reason why it's not a good idea to run live feed through the course of a trial," said Mark Sisti, Smart's defense lawyer.
For Smart's legal team, the media circus surrounding her case has become her battle cry and the basis for her petition for commutation filed in 2004.
"Ms. Smart was denied her right to a fair trial as a result of the media frenzy surrounding it," read the petition for commutation packet. "A case cannot be properly tried if the court is unable to seat an impartial jury because of prejudicial pretrial publicity or an inflamed community atmosphere."
On Dec. 21, 1954, the 18-man jury found Sheppard guilty of the murder of Marilyn Sheppard. Sheppard was given a life sentence although given the chance to apply for parole after serving 10 years.
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