Parallel Trials in Colombia and the Impossibility to apply the Principle of the Presumption of Innocence

Abstract

The article is framed within the strategic studies of Political Science, Criminal Law and Critical Criminology from the perspective of Power Analysis and its application to trials through mass media and modelling of public opinion. The purpose of the article is to evidence how the use of that power leads to the performance of parallel trials that make impossible the acquittal of the suspect. It also shows how judicial errors are made, as well as the manner in which verdicts are conducted and justice is imparted in Colombia. It is also exposed how opinion journalism, investigative journalism, the power of public opinion, and the mediatization of trials have become an epicenter of pressure that force authorities of States to dismiss public servants, begin trials or establish research commissions that facilitate the access to justice for citizens and reduce impunity in cases that would not have legal consequences. It is concluded, that such a power leads sometimes to the performance of parallel trials that make impossible the application of the principle of presumption of innocence and the democratization of the trial.