ABSTRACT
Public opinion influences criminal justice policies throughout the United States. While this is a reflection of democracy in action, the premises for the policies are often based on myths about crime in society. All policies shape citizens’ lives, but criminal justice policies have to meet a higher ethical threshold than many other policies. Policies that may typically be considered immoral, such as restricting freedoms or causing harm to someone, have an aura of legitimacy when associated with enforcing a law. If the policies are created out of information that is inaccurate, people suffer wrongfully regardless of the intentions of the policies that legitimate them. Whether the sanction is a simple fine or a state-sponsored execution, the resulting suffering caused by a policy is supported by the power of the state. In some cases, wrongfully convicted people and citizens who might not have been criminals pay the price for the influence myths have on policies that turn out to be biased or unjust. Baer and
Chambliss (1997) note that fear of crime based on inaccurate information also causes harm to all of society. The concern is therefore how crime myths, whether accidental manifestations of stereotypes or intentionally created propaganda, affect the policy-making process.
