the media, the criminal justice system, and the political system. We could also add to this a fourth, Hollywood. The motion picture industry is a powerful force in constructing reality and perceptions. As one law professor observing the Blake case notes, “The trial has celebrity appeal but does not rise to the level of the O.J. Simpson case. Simpson came to court with an added presumption of innocence because of who he was” (Deutsch 1). Despite these sentiments, the media frenzy over the case has been intense. Half of the media portrayals focus on Blake’s celebrity, while the other half focus on the lurid and grafter-like background of his wife who supposedly made a career out of chasing celebrities. Bakely’s dubious past that included soliciting money from men for sexual favors or pornographic images, has fashioned the perception that she is on trial, not her murderer. Blake’s lawyer describes Bakely as a ruthless celebrity seeker with a jail record, history of drug use, and a scam artist. We can see how this is the justice system trying to frame Bonny as deserving of being murdered because of her lurid past. Even law enforcement officials take part in such inequitable portrayals of individuals involved in criminal matters. In a criminal justice system allegedly neutral, Time magazine had this to report on the case, “Gold digger. Star stalker. Con artist. Grafter. Those were the police descriptions” (Chua-Eoan 87). Others have tried to argue that despite the petty criminal acts in Bakely’s past, nothing she ever did made her a candidate for murder. However, these portrayals of her have been largely reported from her relatives and in media outlets with les
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