Laci Peterson, Elizabeth Smart & the D.C. Snipers: What was the Common Thread?
By Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. What do Laci Peterson, Elizabeth Smart and the D.C. Snipers have in common? Homelessness, as connected to criminal activity. Prior to her death, the media reported, Peterson took walks in a park frequented by the homeless. Smart was abducted by a self-proclaimed homeless prophet, and the D.C. snipers stayed in a homeless shelter. A recent comprehensive study of the way the media portray the homeless suggests that criminal activity and homeless people are now being connected by the mass media.. Just two decades ago, the homeless were presented in the media in a compassionate, sympathetic way in contrast to the current trend which finds the media depicting the homeless, in a majority of cases, as being involved in criminal activity such as murder, kidnaping and child abuse. Joy Junction Homeless Shelter Founder and Director Jeremy Reynalds new book has been described by publishers Cambria Press as one of the most penetrating analyses of homelessness ever conduct