🚨Anatomy of Sensationalism: On Christmas, @washingtonpost posted a fear-filled editorial using all classic scare tactics that helped build mass criminalization, to defeat a common sense proposal: Allowing incarcerated people *simply to petition*for early release. A thread guide: 
‘Danger surrounds you!’—It’s harder these days to use this tactic given “sharp reductions in crime,” as @washingtonpost acknowledges. So they compare to a city most assume is dangerous (it’s not anymore, historically so). “A violent crime rate nearly double that of New York.”
Fear of Unknown: @washingtonpost publishes a reckless “measure” of the those who might be eligible *to be considered* for release: “Many or most of the District’s most violent criminals eligible for release.” Read that again. This could mean 8% or 95%. And of what I’m not sure.
Normalization of Excessiveness: Those who may petition for release must have already served 15 years, an extraordinary amount of time by any measure, & exceptionally rare for any sentence for any crime outside the US. But @washingtonpost, shocked, downplays it: “*Just* 15 years.”
Dehumanization: There is nothing in this editorial that touches on the human beings who will be helped by this proposal. Just nameless, faceless “violent criminals,” who include “inmates convicted of the most terrible crimes.” Note: The photo @washingtonpost embeds has no faces👇
Language: A dictionary’s worth of the most sensationalist, damaging, depersonalizing language. Not people. “Inmates.” “Violent criminals.” “Serial killers, mass murderers & rapists.” “Predator.” “Convict.” “Felon.” This is the @washingtonpost Ed board. Puts @nypost to shame.
Willie-Hortonism: The one name the @washingtonpost includes is an extreme “harrowing” outlier case (who will never be granted early release). A “brutal rape & beating of a 40-year-old college professor in her home.” A black male defendant. A white female survivor. Sound familiar?
Nuance buried: In nearly last paragraph, @washingtonpost finally mentions this key nuance: “No appeal for sentence reduction would be granted automatically.” Again, this new legislation will allow people to *ask* for a second look. A judge could grant or deny. Common sense.
Weaponizing “victims:” The piece ends w/ oldest tool in the fearmongerer’s arsenal. Claiming to speak for victims. The piece ends w/ the D.C. mayor quote: “We haven’t heard enough about victims,” like all survivors of crime only support harsh punishment & reject redemption.
Sensationalized media coverage of crime & reform proposals influences public perceptions, allowing politicians to pass harsh laws (or reject smart ones) disproportionately hurting Black & brown communities while undermining public safety. Call them out. Call out @washingtonpost.
Here’s @adamjohnson on how media helped prosecutors & police weaponize a tragedy: “The public’s perception of crime is often significantly out of alignment w/ reality. This is caused, in part, by frequently sensationalist, decontextualized media coverage.” theappeal.org/new-york-china…
The leading expert on this phenomenon is Professor @RachelBarkow. If you haven't already picked up the brilliant & important "Prisoners of Politics" -- do so.
