Marianna McMurdock
As a culture driven to find anything abnormal, we become so engrossed with the lives and crimes of others that we even have fervent debates over an alleged murder we’ve only heard of for two hours. All arguments based off the spewed facts from various media outlets; facts that they have hand-picked to best support their own ideas of justice.
For two solid weeks, the latest trials, like Casey Anthony’s or Jodi Arias’s, are plastered on every national news station, rerunning the same mulled down information hour after hour, with the occasional guest putting in their worthless two cents.
My mother spent days fixed on the Jodi Arias trial, concerning herself with a now convicted murderer and trying desperately to decipher her motives. It was like another sitcom to her; day after day she would have a slew of new psychological terms to describe people and imitate how unnecessarily aggressive the defense attorney was.
The only logical explanation I have for people like my mother, who consume high profile cases like a Netflix addict during their free trial month, is that the cases provide a sense of entertainment so surreal that many can’t help themselves. They can’t help the fact that they’re drawn to the irrational crimes of strangers, but the amount of coverage that these cases receive in the media is senseless.
Nancy Grace talked for at least four hours, daily, during the Arias trial, saying absolutely nothing. CNN could’ve covered virtually anything more impactful; the unrest in Syria, or mass deaths overseas caused by revolts, yet instead they chose to glorify a killer for our entertainment.
This foolishness only leaves me with the conclusion that maybe the only reason cameras even exist in courtrooms is for the media to make a profit. Why else would anyone ever need to know the details of Casey Anthony’s private life, if not to have a ‘reasonable’ scapegoat for her daughter’s murder?
The existence of media in court rooms for any other purpose than to report the news as it pertains to the populace is sickening. No one should find enjoyment in seeing someone be sentenced to death or life in prison. Yet their presence begs the question, do the juries and justice officials in these cases have any real concern for justice? Or is it all for show?
This façade fronted justice will inevitably continue, especially with the upcoming trial of George Zimmerman, like in the days of the bloodthirsty Romans: public persecution for entertainment’s sake.
