True Crime

When asked about why they like to listen to true crime, many responded that they find it interesting.

“Sometimes I just have a ‘wow’ moment, like someone really did that,” freshman Laura Denham said.

Some other listeners said that they like the mystery part of true crime. 

Mrs. Long said, “My favorite genre of fiction is mystery, so it’s kind of along the same thread.”

 However, studies have shown that listening to too much true crime could possibly lead to effects on the listener. 

Denham says she feels like listening to and watching true crime has had an effect on her. 

“If I am in public, I will be aware of my surroundings and the people who are around me and how people act more,” she said. 

Even so, both English teachers said that they do not internalize the crimes that they listen to. 

“As a teacher, I am really good at compartmentalizing and having empathy versus internalization,” Mrs. Jackson said.

Not only can these crimes affect the people listening to them, but also the people part of the crime itself. 

There has been an ethical debate going on about true crime, whether or not it is ethical for networks and listeners to use these tragic stories as entertainment. 

Though most of the victims’ families want their stories to be shared in hopes of bringing justice to the victim and solving a cold case, there are a few instances where networks are profiting off of these stories. 

In the Netflix show, Dahmer, Netflix did not notify the victims’ families about this and created an entire reenactment of this terrible tragedy. 

Ming Wei Yeoh wrote in Southwest News Media: “The sister in question, Rita Isbell, reported feeling as though she were “reliving it all over again” upon seeing the actress recreate her exact words in a scene that was filmed without her knowledge or consent.

“The only way it can be ethical is if the victim’s family asks for their story to be known. But if it is being spread for pure entertainment reasons, then I don’t think it is very ethical,” said sophomore Nadiya Washington. “Be respectful to the victims.”

However, the blame cannot be put solely on the movie studios.

“The fans’ fascination with the killers themselves occasionally also lacks basic sensitivity,” Yeoh wrote.

“When people are trying to actually insert themselves into the case, at that point I feel like it does cross an ethical line,” Mrs. Long said.

This leaves one question unanswered: How can we all listen to true crime respectfully?

One solution is to be aware of the fact these crimes are things that have happened and affected lots of people, not just the victim(s), but the people close to the victim(s) as well. 

Creating an ethical line is important. For example, there is a podcast going to be made on the Nicole Brown case, but the family of Brown did not want this podcast to be made.

“To me, that was immediately a no for me to even listen to it because I felt that was crossing a line with what a family wanted to be out there,” said Mrs. Long. 

However, there are some podcasts with good intentions. Crime Junkie’s mission is to raise awareness about crime stoppers and bystander training. They will even ask listeners to sign petitions or donate money to a cause relevant to the podcast.