Crime & the Media

Crime and the Media
CSI: is one of the highest-rated TV shows, right up there with Dancing with the Stars and Desperate Housewives. Viewers are fascinated by beautiful-but-brainy, do-it-all cops who carry guns, question suspects, work with the district attorney, and use a battery of fancy tests that exclude the innocent and prove the guilt of the defendant. Many of these viewers wind up in juries across the country and greatly influence the outcome of a case; it has become common for jurors to request forensic evidence in cases that were once thought routine. Defense attorneys also are challenging the prosecution if forensic evidence is absent, even in cases where it is not applicable.   Therefore, we come to the question whether or not television dramas influence our views of crime. The following three articles discuss the strong possibility regarding the power media has over us in different levels, from committing the crime, the jurors’ reactions and the prosecution. From committing the crime to influencing the jury to influencing prosecutors, television crime series undoubtedly is a critical factor. Undeniably, this issue does not only affect those involved, but our government, and our society as well, making it worth our time to study and research it.

Works Cited
McKay, Jim. “Forensic Evidence Demands Rise as TV Crime Dramas Influence Juries.” Government Tech. 12 Nov 2008. http://www.govtech.com/gt/articles/260194?id=260194&full=1&story_pg=1

Ramsland, Katherine. “The CSI Effect.” 12 Nov 2008.       http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/csi_effect/1_index.html

Stevens, Dennis. “Forensic Science, Wrongful Convictions, and American Prosecutor Discretion.” The Howard Journal.12 Nov 2008. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com.ezproxy2.library.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/fulltext/119400667/PDFSTART?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 [continues]

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