TRUE CRIME ETHICS
for dramatic effect and potentially putting those involved at risk of danger and harassment from the public. CASE NOT CLOSED In some instances, true crime shows and documentaries have influenced the outcomes of real cases or trials. Released in 1988, The Thin Blue Line was able to successfully overturn Randall Dale Adams’ case after he had been wrongfully convicted of murder in 1977. Similarly, ITV’s 2024 drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office sparked public outcry.
It depicted the British Post Office scandal, when hundreds of subpostmasters were wrongly accused of theft due to a faulty IT system. The show helped ignite public interest, even leading to then prime minister Rishi Sunak announcing new legislation to quash convictions relating to the scandal and clear the names of innocent people. Further to this, a petition with over 1.2 million signatures demanded former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells have her CBE withdrawn. Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries featured the story of Kayla Unbehaun, a nine-
CRACKING CASES Mr Bates (left and top) and The Thin Blue Line (above) even helped change the verdicts of the cases they depict
year-old girl who vanished from her Illinois home in 2017. A photo of Kayla was shown in the episode, along with an age-progression image depicting what she might look like now. The image prompted a North Carolina store owner to report a sighting after recognising her, ultimately leading to her mother’s arrest. Another example of a Netflix show that sparked backlash was ten-part miniseries Making a Murderer . Shortly after its release, more than 275,000 viewers signed a petition asking then president Barack Obama to overturn Steven Avery’s conviction for the 2005 murder of photographer Teresa Halbach. While it’s arguably beneficial to bring certain stories to light, this doesn’t come without consequences. In the case of Making a Murderer , certain specific details of the case weren’t included in the documentary, begging the question of whether a filmmaker is responsible for the full facts of a story. Further to this, several people involved in the case received numerous death threats. It’s easy to become embroiled in a case that keeps you hooked, but this
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