Legal narratives as significant news sources about mental illness and violent crime
Legal narratives as significant news sources about mental illness and violent crime
Media coverage about people affected by mental illness is an area of research that is extensively examined. Many scholars argue that the media depicts people with mental illness as inherently violent and dangerous within sensational narratives. These depictions are criticized for reinforcing the social stigma and disadvantages many of the mentally ill face. The media does, however, require news sources and, in the context of crime and mental illness, the courts are a significant source. Through qualitative content analysis of Australian newspaper articles, this research examines an under-researched and incompletely theorized area. In doing so, it demonstrates that media depictions of some mentally ill offenders reflect and heavily draw upon legal narratives and what is argued in court about these offenders in the context of criminal responsibility and legal insanity.
mental illness, violence, crime, media, courts
343-372
Wondemaghen, Meron
ffb7f092-1b45-4e9d-94d5-52484047961f
2014
Wondemaghen, Meron
ffb7f092-1b45-4e9d-94d5-52484047961f
Wondemaghen, Meron
(2014)
Legal narratives as significant news sources about mental illness and violent crime.
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, 38 (4), .
(doi:10.1080/01924036.2013.848219).
Abstract
Media coverage about people affected by mental illness is an area of research that is extensively examined. Many scholars argue that the media depicts people with mental illness as inherently violent and dangerous within sensational narratives. These depictions are criticized for reinforcing the social stigma and disadvantages many of the mentally ill face. The media does, however, require news sources and, in the context of crime and mental illness, the courts are a significant source. Through qualitative content analysis of Australian newspaper articles, this research examines an under-researched and incompletely theorized area. In doing so, it demonstrates that media depictions of some mentally ill offenders reflect and heavily draw upon legal narratives and what is argued in court about these offenders in the context of criminal responsibility and legal insanity.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 18 October 2013
Published date: 2014
Keywords:
mental illness, violence, crime, media, courts
Organisations:
Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 380253
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/380253
ISSN: 0192-4036
PURE UUID: 4c8b54d7-f287-48f2-b4a2-0af2107974f0
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Date deposited: 07 Sep 2015 13:54
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 20:57
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Author:
Meron Wondemaghen
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