Peterson Gets the Death Penalty

I know next to nothing about this case and I care even less. OK, that's not entirely true. I do care that a woman and her unborn child were killed and I'm glad that justice has been done. But, this story has been overplayed to the point that perhaps the most natural reaction upon hearing about the sentence is one of callous disregard.

Of all the interesting things going on in the legal world, this story has taken top billing in the media. "But, it's what people want to watch...murder and mayhem make money." Maybe so, but it's easy to lose perspective when a single crime generates such a media sensation that it dominates news coverage for so long. One of Drudge's headlines today projects that there will be over 15,500 homicides in the U.S. this year. It's just that most of them did not have the "murder mystery" appeal of this particular one. Even if some of them did, though, the media already had their made-for-TV drama, and they milked it for all it was worth.

I hate to say it, but it would be hard to surpass FOX News in contributing to all the hype. I'd almost bet that you could count on one hand the number of nights that Greta van Susteren hasn't mentioned the Peterson case since Laci's murder in April 2003. Frankly, FOX's coverage of this story made it seem even more loud and obnoxious than usual.

Now that the trial is over with, let's just hope that something else attracts the media's attention before the appeals start.

By the way, this was my first post on this subject, and I can almost guarantee that it will be the last.