Techniques of Neutralisation and the Conviction of the Oklahoma Bomber, Timothy McVeigh

bearing on the perception of credibility. In Chapter 5 , we review the case of Timothy McVeigh, convicted and executed for the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City, to explore the role of techniques of neutralisation and other narrative accounts that off enders may use to deny or mitigate their guilt. And in Chapter 6 , we use the case of O.J. Simpson to look at guilt and innocence as rhetorical accomplishments, arguing that one of the factors that contributed to his acquittal was the superior courtroom oratory of his defence team.

The next three chapters examine the impact of the defendant’s status on the construction of guilt and innocence. Chapter 7 takes the case of Michael Jackson, acquitted of child molestation charges in 2005, to explore the widely researched topic of social status and case outcomes. The argument, fairly evidently, is that Jackson’s celebrity status and wealth contributed to his acquittal. In Chapter 8 , we take the case of Brendan Dassey, convicted of murder in Wisconsin (in a case made famous by the documentary Making a Murderer), to look at the research on vulnerability and its impact on interviews with the police and on forced confessions. And in Chapter 9 , we use the case of Peter Sutcliff e (popularly known as ‘The Yorkshire Ripper’) to explore the legal concept of diminished responsibility and the social constructions that are made of it. It is these social constructions (and Sutcliff e’s diminished credibility), we argue, that led to his conviction for murder.

The fi nal two chapters address the topic of judging guilt and innocence, for – after all – judgments represent completed constructions of guilt and innocence (even though subject to possible change) that are infl uenced by the sorts of process discussed in earlier chapters. But judgments also entail additional factors which merit consideration in their own right. In Chapter 10 , we take the case of South African Oscar Pistorius, convicted for the death of his girlfriend, to examine the role played by common sense and reasonableness in judicial decisions about guilt and innocence. Finally, in Chapter 11 , we use the case of Amanda Knox to explore constructions of guilt and innocence in the media and the wider social domain.

We conclude with an Afterword about what we believe is the signifi cance of the approach taken in this book for the understanding of criminal case outcomes, not only those receding into the past but also those yet to come.