Hidden Victims: The Effects of the Death Penalty on Families of the Accused

Chapter 1: Introduction: The Death Penalty, Victims’ Families, and Families of Prisoners

Chapter 1 Introduction The Death Penalty, Victims’ Families, and Families of Prisoners Media and Our Understanding of Crime The American public’s understanding of crime is shaped and influenced by the media. Indeed, no other topic garners as much local media attention as crime.1 This understanding of crime, however , is not based on an unbiased presentation of the facts. Instead, it is often shaped by the concerns and the goals of those Altheide refers to as “the formal agents of social control” (representatives of various aspects of the criminal justice system).2 Furthermore, representations of crime are “considered good ways to sell papers and sustain viewers.”The result is that the American public has developed an intense fear of being victimized . This fear of victimization translates into support for the death penalty.3 News media frequently focus on the most appalling offenses, regardless of the state’s stand on capital punishment. InWisconsin, a non–death penalty state, the discovery of multiple victims of Jeffrey Dahmer led to intensive media coverage. The press not only reported the terrible evidence but also covered aspects of Jeffrey Dahmer’s personal life in great detail. The general public was regaled with stories of the seventeen murders to which he had confessed and the grisly evidence found in his home. However, media coverage was not limited to the crime. News stories also included information about the type of beer he drank, his cigarette preference, the types of potato chips he ate, and the brand of baking soda he used in his refrigerator.4 The focus on Dahmer’s preference for certain brands served to underscore the gulf between the mundane aspects of his life and the nature of his offenses. 1 News is not the only type of media that shapes Americans’ perceptions about crime. Indeed, according to one criminologist, movies “are a significant source—perhaps the most significant source—of ideas about crime and criminals. Indeed, the author points out a way in which crime films shape our understanding of crime in America, stating, “Seemingly innocuous suburbs are overrun with psychopaths, and because normality never presides in these unpredictable realms, justice and escape are always just beyond reach.”5 Arguably, this focus on senseless and random murder has helped shape America’s attitude toward capital punishment. Faced with the violence and depravity of Hannibal Lecter of Silence of the Lambs fame or the Knox couple of Natural Born Killers, the average American may find it easy to believe that we are surrounded by senseless violence that must be stopped. To many, the death penalty is the only appropriate punishment for such depravity as they have witnessed in films. Again, media representations have provided support for the system of capital punishment in the United States. Not all media depictions support capital punishment, of course. In the last decade, there has been a steady increase in books, movies, and news stories that show a different side of the death penalty. These recent releases have often focused on the inherent humanity of those condemned to death as well as on the public’s growing awareness of the potential of executing the wrong person. In The Chamber, the reader meets Sam Cayhall, a former Klansman, and his grandson,Adam Hall. As the story begins, Sam is facing execution for the murders of two young children decades earlier. Adam, a young attorney who has grown up not knowing his grandfather, represents Sam during his last month. Sam Cayhall is not a lovable character. He is an angry and irascible racist who spent his younger years persecuting minorities. However, Grisham manages to demonstrate that Cayhall, like most of us, has many dimensions to his personality and that his execution serves little purpose. The man the state is executing is not the same man who committed the crime many years before.6 This argument is frequently put forth by those opposed to capital punishment. The book also develops the theme of the impact on family members. In the movie The Last Dance, the audience is introduced to Cindy Liggit, a young woman sentenced to die for murders she committed during a burglary. Cindy does not deny her responsibility, H i d d e n Vi c t i m s 2 having had years to reflect on why she acted with such violence. Again, this is a character that is complex and evolving. In The Green Mile, two...