The Visualities and Aesthetics of Prosecuting Aged Defendants

Abstract

The prosecution—whether domestic or international—of international crimes and atrocities may implicate extremely aged defendants. Much has been written about the legalisms that inhere (or not) in trying these barely alive individuals. Very little however has been written about the aesthetics the barely alive encrust into the architecture of courtrooms, the optics these defendants suffuse into the trial process, and the expressive value of punishing them. This is what we seek to do in this project.

When ideal victims don’t make ideal offenders: The (re)framing of legacy case prosecutions against elderly perpetrators of state violence

“…His doctor told him he was not well enough to travel' (Brown, 2021), while another in The Mail decried 'the spectacle of a dying veteran sitting in a dock in Belfast wearing his service medals' (Feehan, 2021). Aged defendants are aware of their ability to leverage sympathy and often play into the optics of this (Drumbl and Fournet, 2022), with Hutchings telling assembled reporters 'I am in palliative care at the moment' as he entered court during an earlier hearing related to the case (Ward, 2019). Certainly, when one 'imagines' Hutchings as described here the concept of the 'ideal victim' seems a neater fit than does the 'ideal offender'.…”

“…The onset of Covid-19 saw public health and public accountability collide in the prosecution of elderly defendants (Drumbl and Fournet, 2022: 20), and, perhaps unsurprisingly, when Hutchings contracted, and then eventually succumbed to Covid-19, his trial was reframed as a health risk. Drawing a direct causal line between the trial and Hutchings contracting Covid-19, Conservative MP Johnny Mercer argued that ‘clearly he would not have caught Covid if he wasn’t there.…”

“…The trial of Hutchings was part of what Davidson (2020: 61) labels a global ‘silver wave’ of ageing and aged defendants appearing before international and domestic courts for historic human rights abuses. These prosecutions have, however, proven acutely contentious in Cambodia, Chile and Germany (Drumbl and Fournet, 2022). Whether in Belfast or Bosnia, the macabre reality of these prosecutions is, as the Hutchings case would prove, that the defendant might take ill or die during the proceedings (Davidović, 2021).…”

“…Whether in Belfast or Bosnia, the macabre reality of these prosecutions is, as the Hutchings case would prove, that the defendant might take ill or die during the proceedings (Davidović, 2021). It is true, too, that the emergence of Covid-19 heightened pre-existing sensitivities around prosecuting the ‘barely alive’ (Drumbl and Fournet, 2022:5).…”