This paper explores how the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings were framed by news and social media through the lens of "predatory criminality" — a concept drawn from Ray Surette's work on media, crime, and criminal justice. The paper argues that media coverage portrayed the Tsarnaev brothers as inherently evil deviants driven by irrational urges, consistent with the psychological theory of criminality. This framing entertained and absolved the public of responsibility, used victims instrumentally for sensationalism, and cast law enforcement as heroic figures. The conclusion reinforces how predatory criminality narratives serve commercial, emotional, and social functions for media outlets and their audiences.
"Predatory criminality" is a popular theme in modern news media and social media, rooted in the psychological theory of criminality. The inherently evil criminal is portrayed as deviant and separate from society. This framing entertains the public while absolving them of any guilt and encouraging them to cheer when the heroes defeat the villains. The Boston Marathon Bombings are a compelling example of both predatory criminality and the psychological theory of criminality as they play out in media coverage.
"Predatory criminality" involves criminals who are driven by animal urges and cravings, who are illogical and essentially evil, and who commit violent, dramatic, and irrational crimes (Surette, 2015, p. 60). The media tends to focus on this type of criminality because the public is fascinated by it and because it makes the crime appear to stem entirely from the individual criminal's deficiencies, absolving society of any responsibility (Surette, 2015, pp. 61–62). The individual and his or her terrible criminal acts seem to appear out of nowhere, with no connection to broader social behavior or conditions.
This framing allows the media to benefit from the public's intense interest while enabling the public and society to condemn and severely punish the criminal without sharing any responsibility for the situation or feeling guilt for that condemnation (Surette, 2015, p. 62). The victims of such crimes are used to illustrate victimization and are then largely ignored (Surette, 2015, p. 63). Media attention instead concentrates on the hero-villain contest in which the good guys — usually law enforcement — capture or, better yet, kill the villainous criminal.
An excellent example of the media's treatment of crime as sensational predatory criminality is the Boston Marathon Bombings of April 15, 2013 (NBCUniversal Media, LLC, 2013). Briefly, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev detonated two bombs near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 260 (Surette, 2015, p. 61). There was a media frenzy across the world that repeatedly showed the bombings and the human suffering (NBCUniversal Media, LLC, 2013).
Law enforcement confronted the predatory criminals only a few days later when the Tsarnaev brothers shot an MIT police officer, hijacked a car, and engaged in a gun battle in the street with police, during which Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed. A day later, Dzhokhar was found hiding in a covered boat, was shot, and was captured. Throughout this sequence of events, media — including social media — heavily followed and continuously reported both the investigation and new developments, from the pursuit to the killing of one brother and the capture of the other.
"Applies psychological deviance theory to bombing coverage"
"Predatory criminality" involves criminals who are driven by animal urges and cravings, who are illogical and essentially evil, and who commit violent, dramatic, and irrational crimes (Surette, 2015, p. 60). The media tends to focus on this type of criminality because the public is fascinated by it and because it makes the crime appear to stem entirely from the individual criminal's deficiencies, absolving society of any responsibility (Surette, 2015, pp. 61–62). The individual and his or her terrible criminal acts seem to appear out of nowhere, with no connection to broader social behavior or conditions.
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