Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MA

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Sociology and Anthropology

Committee Chair

Joshua Woods

Committee Co-Chair

Corey Colyer

Committee Member

Corey Colyer

Committee Member

Jesse Wozniak

Abstract

True crime documentaries have gained popularity in the past decade, but those focusing on wrongful conviction cases have been on the rise (Doughty, 2018). Advocates against wrongful conviction, such as the Innocence Project, have been utilizing entertainment media to increase awareness on the issues present in the criminal justice system. However, the framing of wrongful conviction causes and cases (ex: focusing on extreme accusations of police misconduct and intentional forensic evidence tampering) could lead to a bias in how the viewers understand how miscarriages of justice occur. The primary research question being investigated here is, how are these advocacy-recommended documentaries being framed? Utilizing framing theory surrounding media and the methods that wrongful conviction documentaries implore to gain sympathy from viewers, I hope to see to what extent these documentaries could be influencing public perception on causes of wrongful conviction.

The study was completed by using content analysis on documentaries recommended by the Innocence Project, in which primary focus is on wrongful conviction narratives. By utilizing content analysis, characteristics of the documentaries were analyzed based on what is included in its screening. These characteristics include crime committed, race/sex of offender, causes that led to wrongful conviction, number of cases covered, and if information on wrongful conviction is analyzed. My hypothesis is that these documentaries are framed with more episodic frames, which could lead to misconception of causes/circumstances regarding wrongful conviction. By such framing, viewers might misunderstand the systemic issues that lead to these miscarriages of justice and hinder advocacy strategies for education, correction, and prevention.

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