When the Night Comes Falling

The justice system in the United States has always had a complex, and often uneasy, relationship with the nation’s media. The US Constitution, notably the First Amendment, safeguards the transparency of the legal system by guaranteeing public access to court proceedings; additionally, most police departments maintain a close relationship with the media for reasons of public welfare, for example, to warn the populace of ongoing threats or to seek its help in solving crimes. (The “Amber Alert,” which signals the public to be on the lookout for abducted children, is a recent example.) In sharing information with the media, however, law enforcement agencies must strike a careful balance; for instance, withholding certain evidence, such as facts that only the perpetrator would know, gives investigators crucial leverage in questioning suspects. Further, as Howard Blum’s When the Night Comes Falling illustrates, public curiosity about certain, widely publicized cases can spark media frenzies and wild speculation that can quickly muddy the investigative waters and—at worst—derail the course of justice itself.

Blum, who does not hold back on his own theorizing, touches on the killer’s (mysterious) motive with his suggestion that the slayings were the result of a “fantasy” to commit the “perfect murder.” This raises an arguable effect of the media on vulnerable minds—e.