Crime in the Spotlight : The Impact of True Crime Entertainment in Shaping Public Attitudes Toward Criminal Justice and Punishment

This study examined how the public's opinions of criminal punishment are shaped by the consumption of true crime media, with a particular emphasis on how it affects attitudes toward the legal system. The study looked at two emotional variables, fear and anger, and whether they influence public support for harsher punishments as a consequence of consuming true crime media Additionally, the relationship between the frequency of true crime media consumption and the perceived leniency of the criminal justice system was also investigated. A total of 123 participants participated. The results revealed a good correlation between the perceived leniency of the justice system and the consumption of true crime media, but it did not demonstrate a significant correlation between the combined experience of anger and fear and an increased desire for harsher punishment in relation to true crime consumption. These findings imply that although emotional responses to true crime media may not directly influence the support for harsher sentencing, frequent true crime media consumption does relate to how lenient the justice system is perceived by viewers.