Why 'Crime' vs. 'Law'

I wrote this entry back in May of 2008. I left it in the editing stage without publishing it until now. Why? I have no idea. But I was looking at the CNN 'Law' page recently, and that prompted me to go ahead and release these words:

"Crime" sells. Is "Law" boring?

CNN used to have the "Law" section on the front page of their web site. It has been replaced by a link to their "Crime" page. There is still a page dedicated to "Law" but it is not necessarily the sensational coverage that is devoted to the "Crime" stories. "Crime" must sell more virtual papers. Who wants to read about 'lawsuits' when you can look at 'prosecutions?'

What's the difference? Why not cover the crimes under the "Law" section? I suppose people have always been obsessed with crime and criminals in a romantic sort of way. That all depends on media exposure etc. The movie "The Assassination of Jesse James" shows an interesting perspective on this phenomenon. Jesse James went from evil killer to murdered victim in the public eye. His killer was assassinated as well, and nobody mourned him. He had killed a celebrity.

Of course, white blonde women are the media wet dreams in the "Crime" section. It doesn't matter if they are the victim or the alleged criminal, if it's a white female, it's covered. If she's blonde, well that just means NATIONAL coverage. Look at the Barbie Bandits from here in Georgia. It was well reported that they were "Bank Robbers" who stole thousands from a bank. Their minimal sentences were well covered by national news outlets. Their black, male co-defendant's sentence hardly registered on the local news though. He was found to be much more culpable than the blondies, and he got 25 years to serve his involvement in their scheme.

I guess as a criminal defense lawyer, "Crime" is more interesting to me too.