TY - JOUR
T1 - Spectacular justice
T2 - The circus on trial, and the trial as circus, Picton, 1903
AU - Strange, Carolyn
AU - Loo, Tina
PY - 1996
Y1 - 1996
N2 - The 1903 murder of one Black circus labourer by another in Picton, Ontario, led to the unlikely juxtaposition of two spectacles, the trial and the circus, and provides the opportunity to read the former institution in light of the latter. In doing so, we come to several conclusions about the modern circus, the trial of 'Side Show Shorty,' trials in general, and the relationship between law and community. We argue that 'Shorty's' acquittal may be attributed to a variety of extra-legal factors, including Pictonians' attitudes towards capital punishment, the town's emerging identity as a tourist haven, and the status of the victim and offender as outsiders, both by virtue of their race and their association with the circus.
AB - The 1903 murder of one Black circus labourer by another in Picton, Ontario, led to the unlikely juxtaposition of two spectacles, the trial and the circus, and provides the opportunity to read the former institution in light of the latter. In doing so, we come to several conclusions about the modern circus, the trial of 'Side Show Shorty,' trials in general, and the relationship between law and community. We argue that 'Shorty's' acquittal may be attributed to a variety of extra-legal factors, including Pictonians' attitudes towards capital punishment, the town's emerging identity as a tourist haven, and the status of the victim and offender as outsiders, both by virtue of their race and their association with the circus.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0009248213&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3138/CHR-077-02-01
DO - 10.3138/CHR-077-02-01
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0009248213
SN - 0008-3755
VL - 77
SP - 159-184+312
JO - Canadian Historical Review
JF - Canadian Historical Review
IS - 2
ER -