The Scarborough Crossbow Killings

Superior Essays
In recent years, the media has increased their coverage of crime reporting, more specifically, in suburban neighbourhoods. Although violent crime rates are low, the covering of these stories has increased in the last few decades. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that several media platforms have been closely following up with the “Scarborough crossbow killings”.
The Toronto Star is one of many media outlets that have published articles regarding Brett Ryan’s case. “Brett Ryan’s friends struggle to comprehend family’s slaying,” by Wendy Gills, narrates Brett Ryan’s killing of his mother and two bothers outside their home in Scarborough on August 25th, 2016. The article primarily focuses on Ryan’s past indiscretions with the law, possibility
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According to The Toronto Star, the courts have concluded that Ryan did not demonstrate any indicators pointing to mental illness (Gills, 2016). Bloom, a forensic psychiatrist that provided some insights to the case believed, “Even when there’s no major mental disorder… an aggrieved man may kill multiple family members, most likely after being angry and resentful for a long time” (Gills, 2016). The Toronto Star’s decision to place this quote at the end of the article shows the intention was for the public to consider it as the plausible and most likely motive. In doing so, the public perception of the nature of this crime is reflected in the way the the media presents the case. This can have a severe impact in the way familial killings are perceived by the public. Instead of looking at mental illnesses when dealing with similar crimes, it may lead the public to perceive these crimes, as a result of an extreme emotional mental state. This change in perception can cause fear and panic, since the public will believe that more people are likely to commit crimes out of anger as compared to people who suffer from a mental illness. This is not necessarily true, however it can insinuate that fear and mentality among the …show more content…
The article implicitly mentions the previous conviction of Ryan in multiple bank robberies (Gills, 2016). Ryan has been involved with the criminal justice system in the past; however, this incident was not related to the bank robberies. The news article included his past indiscretions with the law, which subtly introduces a problem within the criminal justice system. The article mentions that the psychiatric report in court concluded that there was no history of violent behaviour or mental illness at his first trial however; it is not the case in this particular incident. As the article focuses on his aggressive nature through the murder of his family, the effectiveness of the criminal justice system comes into

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