True crime: entertainment or unethical?
Emma Ogren, Staff Writer
True crime as a genre has always been prevalent in our society, but in the past decade it has had a large boost in popularity. This is mainly due to more media being created that surrounds the idea of true crime: podcasts, documentaries and dramas based on real events are very entertaining to the public.
There is no better example of true crime being entertainment than the Murdaugh murders.
On June 7, 2021, Alex Murdaugh, who was a 52-year-old lawyer from Islandton, South Carolina, shot his wife and younger son, Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.
The two were fatally shot near the dog kennels of their estate. After the police responded to Murdaugh’s 911 call, both were pronounced dead at the scene.
Murdaugh said he had an alibi: he was napping at the time of the murder. He said that he had not been to the kennels that day, but a snapchat video was found of him at the kennels around 8:40 p.m. on the day of the murders. By 10:10 p.m. the two were dead.
At the time, there was speculation that Murdaugh committed the murders to cover up his web of financial troubles. According to NPR, Murdaugh was embezzling money from both his clients and his law firm. In all, he stole about $12 million to fund his family’s lifestyle.
When the murders occurred, there was another lawsuit that the family was facing. In 2019, a 19-year-old girl named Mallory Beach was killed in a boating accident. Paul Murdaugh was driving the boat.
His criminal indictment trial was meant to happen in July of 2021. Prosecutors believed that Murdaugh was scared of his financial troubles being outed during this separate trial.
Murdaugh’s murder trial was held in 2023. During this trial, his lawyer admitted to the fact that Murdaugh attempted to stage his own death in September 2021. He believed that there was enough evidence against him in this investigation.
He arranged for a former client of his to shoot him in the head. This way, his remaining son, Buster, would acquire his $10 million life insurance payout. However, he only ended up with a minor injury.
At the end of his trial, Murdaugh was found guilty and is serving two consecutive life terms. He also got 40 years on top of that for his financial crimes, which were tried in a separate trial.
Buster Murdaugh still supports that his father is innocent.
On Oct. 15, 2025, Hulu aired a new series based on this series of events. Starring Jason Clarke as Alex Murdaugh, “Murdaugh: Death in the Family” is eight episodes that go through the events of the murders and trials.
However, this is not the only series to be based on these murders. “Murdaugh Murders: the Movie” can be found on Lifetime and “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal” can be found on Netflix.
Both of these other options, however, are documentaries. Using real footage and evidence from the crime, they take the audience through the series of events.
“Murdaugh: Death in the Family” is a drama, using actors to show the events as they unfolded.
The dramatization of these tragic events begs the question: has true crime become too sensationalized? Has society started seeing these stories as monetizable entertainment instead of real hurt?
Joshua Styles, associate professor of criminal justice and Christian studies at North Greenville University, believes that the portrayal of crime has skewed the public’s perception of how criminal justice works. People now have a distorted version of law enforcement and the justice system in general.
Styles said he thinks that humans have an innate sense for justice and that is why we are so drawn to true crime as a genre.
“I think we all know there’s something distinctly wrong with the world and we all know that there’s injustice. We want that to get better,” he said.
Most media portrays a good vs evil narrative and true crime is no different. Whether it’s a police drama or a documentary, the creators want the audience to root for a certain party. It depends on the media whether they want the audience to see the police as the good or bad guys.
“Murdaugh: Death in the Family” does not paint law enforcement in a good light as many precincts can quickly become corrupt.
Styles also discussed how the media shows police constantly in action when that is not the true heart of the job.
He said, “You don’t see 90% of the time that people spend doing things that we might consider mundane. Can you imagine watching a crime show about paperwork?”
In the same way that the media gets to control the narrative about police, they also control the narrative of the victims and the perpetrators.
If a news outlet believes someone is guilty, they can make the public believe it, simply by choosing what information to withhold and publish.
“You need necessary context. There’s always something that gets left out,” said Styles. “Everything you say could be completely factually true, but you could slant what people view with that footage.”
Younger generations have their own reasons for consuming this type of content.
Briana Williams, a sophomore psychology major, explained why she likes true crime as such, “I like being informed, and I like watching stories that aren’t scripted.”
Williams also said that horrific actions can be scary to watch sometimes and give her an uneasy feeling. “However, the fear of watching it is outweighed by the information I gain from it.”
