Media coverage has always been on the frontline to provide information about issues that concern violent behaviour. It is, however, evident that media has become an instrument of particular individuals when it comes to the relationship between mental ailment and criminal activities, especially in cases that involve intense violet crimes. Mental illness has become an excuse that individuals use to get away with violent crimes by the use of media. The television, being the widely used source if media displays violent behaviour with individuals that have mental disorders. Media coverage more often highlights the violent behaviour of the mentally challenged individuals more than any other character posted by such people.
News coverage that concerns serious crimes such as mass murder or serial killers is often highlighted as a result of a mentally ill person. Such coverages protect violent individuals by making the public to believe that mental illness was a contributing factor in criminal behaviour Media profiling uses mental illness as the reason behind violent criminals, especially when the crime involves murder. Such false information, as conveyed by media due to high profiling, makes the public to believe that mentally unstable people commit most of the violent criminal activities (Bartol, & Bartol, 2014 , p.236)
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Brutal and violent crimes are not commented on by mentally challenged individuals as portrayed by the media. False news helps such a criminal to get away after committing a crime quickly. The mentally ill people hardly engage in criminal activities. The media, however, makes people believe that violence is associated with a mental disorder. Such facts are not real and could mislead the public into thinking that people who commit crime are mentally ill. Individuals murder by the use of guns, and this leaves the question of how media can associate such action with mental illness while weapons cannot be handed over to a mentally ill person. The media continues to mislead the public as it is only used as an instrument to use mental illness as a cover-up serious crimes.
Reference
Bartol, A. M., & Bartol, C. R. (2014). Criminal behavior: A psychological approach . Boston: Pearson.
