Show trial

When people get accused, there will be a trial. Usually, the trial is there to see if the person is guilty, and if this is the case, what the punishment should be. A show trial is different: the question whether the person is guilty (called a verdict) has been made before. The trial is held so that accusations and the verdict can be presented to the public, serving as an example and a warning to other would-be dissidents or transgressors.[1]
Show trials tend to be retributive rather than corrective, and they are also conducted for propagandistic purposes.[2] When aimed at individuals on the basis of protected classes or characteristics, show trials are examples of political persecution. The term was first recorded in 1928.[3]
A similar concept is "kangaroo court".
References
[change | change source]- ↑ OED (2014): "show trial".
- ↑ "SHOW TRIAL | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary". dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- ↑ "Definition of SHOW TRIAL". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 19 June 2019.