Shasta Groene and Joseph Duncan: My final media analysis project

In Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, in 2005, Shasta Groene's family was murdered, and she and her brother Dylan were kidnapped and molested by Joseph Duncan. For weeks, this molestation continued, until he killed Dylan, and was apprehended at a Denny's when the workers recognized Shasta from the news. It was later determined that Joseph Duncan had a long rap sheet, including molestation, going back to when he was 15. He is considered a serial killer, and admitted to killing several other people along with Shasta's mother, older brothers, and her mother's boyfriend.

I researched both Shasta Groene and Joseph Duncan to find these news stories, in order to gain a perspective on how the news portrayed both Shasta and Duncan. I wanted to gather information on how the news thought the justice system did, and what they thought about Duncan. Interestingly, whenever Shasta Groene is discussed, it is by her first name, Shasta. Whenever Joseph Duncan is discussed, it is only by his last name, Duncan. I believe this is an intentional way of discussing them, Shasta by her first name, to induce familiarity, and Duncan by his last name, to distance him.

Some key findings I had were that in almost every story, they start by discussing Shasta, familiarizing you with the young, naive, perfect child, and her innocent family. This depicts Surette's view on the ideal victim.

Second, that this trial was covered in every aspect, from Shasta herself, to her testimony, to the waitress that saved her, all the way to Duncan's family. This clearly constitutes a media trail. Lastly, that the media viewed the justice system in a 'Faulty Criminal Justice System' frame (Surette, 2015, p. 38). They always discussed how the justice system failed Shasta and her family by letting Duncan have such a low bail on a previous sexual assault case, only $15,000.

Shasta is always depicted as the ideal victim. I do want to point out that, as an 8 year old child, she is truly an innocent victim here, however, the news coverage that this story received is due to the fact that she fit this bill so perfectly. In almost every news story that I have collected, she is described in enough detail for every reader to feel intense sympathy and outrage for such an 'innocent poor girl'.

For Surette, it is not enough to simply be young, one must also be innocent, naive, and in need of protection (2015, p. 207). Shasta is always described as a young innocent girl whose justice system and family failed to protect. In People's account of how Shasta was doing after her rescue, "The best news of all is that the little brown-haired girl who looked so scared and lost at Denny’s has been coming out of her shell more and more every day. When her grandmother and aunts came to see her, “Shasta just held out her arms to them,” says Sue Torres. “They spent the whole eight minutes just holding and hugging.”" (People, July 18, 2005). Duncan also falls right into the ideal offender, a stranger who had repeatedly raped, and was impossible to rehabilitate. These two phenomena falling together create a news story bound to become viral, an impossible to resist innocent child, and a monster who had already hurt children before.

Although the waitress doesn't seem to display too many characteristics of the ideal hero (Surette, 2015, p. 208), she did have a decent sense of morality, and was smart and brave enough to stall for time until the officers arrived. In CNN's coverage of the rescue of Shasta, they described Deahn's smart time stalling strategy: "We took a little longer than usual to make the shake and made sure to make a large shake instead of a child's shake. We wanted to make sure to take just long enough to where, you know, if it turned out to be nothing, we could just say, "You know, hey, our shake machine's running a little slow. It's an old machine. We didn't want to cause any suspicion, so we made sure to time it just about perfect, so that he didn't think anything of it. And it gave the officer time to arrive." (CNN, July 2, 2005). This, while not the media sensation of someone heroically battling the ideal offender, was enough of a hero that the news stories also latched onto her, providing more information for the all the followers of the story.

Altogether, the innocent victim, Shasta, is the primary focus in these stories, and the general public seemed to latch right on to the ideal victim.

This event clearly turned into a media trial, getting reduced to highlights (Surette, 2015, p. 129) so that the public could quickly hear the juiciest parts of the story, and gossip about them, without having to be in court in person, and without having to hear all of the 'boring' discussions of how evidence was gathered, warrants issued, and the day to day routines of Duncan. Most of the stories I gathered discussed quick bits of the trail, ignored most of the proceedings, and discussed only the most attention gathering bits in more detail. For instance, Seattle Times discussion of the penalty phase was short and to the point, and instead of discussing various aspects about the legal system's penalties, only discussed that the death penalty was a possibility (Seattle Times, December 3, 2007), and that Duncan did not make a plea deal.

Another aspect of media trials is the how the lawyers, police, and witnesses were all "raised to celebrity status" (Surette, 2015, p. 23) for the duration of the trial, and a good while after. Some articles discussed the officers in more detail, such as Fox's coverage of Shasta's description of her ordeal; "Avriett testified Thursday that he turned on his vehicle's dashboard-mounted video camera, with the camera pointed away from Shasta, and recorded her talking about her ordeal" (Fox News, August 15, 2008). The waitress who recognized her was undoubtedly a media celebrity for a while, being the hero that recognized her, she was someone they could latch on to. With the waitress, an adult, they would interview her without worrying about hurting her, like they could the actual victim. This is all very important, because unlike a real trial, the public doesn't understand what work goes into getting the evidence, how Duncan was convicted, if he was fairly convicted, and they don't have a true perspective on how our justice system works.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the framework through which the news viewed our justice system. According to Surette, the "Faulty Criminal Justice System Frame" "holds that crime results from a lack of "law and order"" (2015, p. 38). Almost every news story I looked at discussed how Duncan was previously convicted of rape, and how he got a low bail of $15,000 set when he molested a 6 year old boy, was able to get the $15,000 from a Fargo businessman who believed him when he claimed he was innocent (Deseret News, July 14, 2005). Duncan had first molested when he was only 16, and continued to do so every time he was released until he was finally put behind bars for good. According to the Seattle Times, "After his parents divorced when he was 16, Joseph Duncan was convicted for raping a 14-year-old boy at gunpoint" (November 4, 2005)

Clearly, Duncan was a prime example of the justice system failing to keep a dangerous predator behind bars, and this was like catnip to most reporters. It is easy to say in hindsight that someone cannot be rehabilitated, but not so easy to condemn a 16 year old boy that you don't know the future of.

Overall, the media coverage of this horrific event was full of Surette's ideas on how media views crime. From the ideal victim, Shasta Groene, to the ideal offender, Joseph Duncan, to the coverage of the trial (or lack thereof, in the case of the more boring parts), to where they laid the blame for such an event occuring. Crime is not just a black and white, easy to figure out, right and wrong thing, although the media always tries to lay it out like that. It is not solely the judge's fault that Shasta was kidnapped, even though he set a rather low bail. It is not solely Duncan's father's fault that he turned out to be a serial killer and rapist, even though he raised him. All of these articles were full of blame, missing details that would have been considered boring to the public, and were short enough that any reader could go through it, feel what they were supposed to feel, share it, and move on. It is clear that in today's day and age, no one wants to read a report on a trial that is hundreds of pages long, full of evidence that is almost unnecessary, details that are, at best, uncomfortable to read, and at worst, traumatizing to read and see pictures of. The media can take advantage of that, and put out a story that omits the parts the reader doesn't want to read or see, but keeps the 'juicy' details that compel them to read it. This keeps the public coming back to that news source, keeping them in business. After all, that is what news is, a business.

Boone, R. (2007, December 3). Suspect pleads guilty to kidnapping Shasta Groene, killing her brother Dylan in 2005. Seattle Times, The. Retrieved from http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/suspect-pleads-guilty-to-kidnapping-shasta-groene-killing-her-brother-dylan-in-2005/

CNN (2005, July 2). Waitress: 'I picked her up and held her'. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/07/02/deahn/index.html?iref=newssearch

CNN (2005, July 3). Evidence examined in Idaho kidnapping. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/07/03/idaho.children/

CNN (2005, July 6). Idaho girl told police suspect tied up family. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/07/05/idaho.children/

Denver Post (2005, July 2). Missing Idaho girl is found alive. Denver Post, The. Retrieved from http://www.denverpost.com/2005/07/02/missing-idaho-girl-is-found-alive/

Fox News (2005, July 6). Shasta: Duncan Molested Dylan and Me. Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/07/06/shasta-duncan-molested-dylan-and-me.html

Fox News (2008, August 15). Girl Describes Abduction, Brother's Murder on Tape in Sentencing for Pedophile. Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/08/15/girl-describes-abduction-brother-murder-on-tape-in-sentencing-for-pedophile.html

Geranios, N. K. (2005, July 14). Shasta Groene says Duncan bragged of killings. Deseret News. Retrieved from http://www.deseretnews.com/article/600148401/Shasta-Groene-says-Duncan-bragged-of-killings.html?pg=all

Kramer, B. (2005, October 22). Transcripts detail murder, kidnapping case. Spokesman-Review, The. Retrieved from http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2005/oct/22/transcripts-detail-murder-kidnapping-case/

NBC News (2005, July 6). Idaho suspect's records show violent history. NBC News. Retrieved from http://www.deseretnews.com/article/600148401/Shasta-Groene-says-Duncan-bragged-of-killings.html?pg=all

NBC News (2008, August 14). Groene shares letters from children; Duncan questions FBI Agent. NBC News. Retrieved from http://www.nbcrightnow.com/story/8841997/groene-shares-letters-from-children-duncan-questions-fbi-agent

NBC News (2008, August 14). Idaho killer's jury hears voice of abducted girl. NBC News. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26207548/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/idaho-killers-jury-hears-voice-abducted-girl/#.WEi-HnUrKHu

Seattle Times (2005, November 4). Brother of molester Duncan speaks for first time. Seattle Times, The. Retrieved from http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/brother-of-molester-duncan-speaks-for-first-time/

Spokesman-Review (2005, October 27). Family wants investigation of Duncan in death. Spokesman-Review, The. Retrieved from http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2005/oct/27/family-wants-investigation-of-duncan-in-death/

Surette, R. (2015). Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice: Images, Realities, and Policies. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Tresniowski, A. (2005, July 18). Midnight Rescue. People. Retrieved from http://people.com/archive/midnight-rescue-vol-64-no-3/