Edward Fitzgerald and Nicole Harper have been labeled by CNN as the new Bonnie and Clyde. Photo courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

I’ve noticed a trend in the news lately that is pretty terrifying. People like Edward Fitzgerald and Nicole Harper are mimicing infamous crimes of the past. While I don’t believe that these crimes are directly influenced by old outlaws, I am able to see the similarities over the differences.

In the news this week, I have seen the headlines read “Bonnie and Clyde” over and over again.  For those that don’t know the names, or if they don’t sound familiar to you, they were outlaws of the past whose game involved stealing, robbery and kidnapping.

During the time of the Great Depression the power couple took money into their own hands and started a life of crime to make ends meet during the hardships of society. In the end, the couple killed nine officers and  are believed to have killed six innocent people.

You may be wondering why this matters though. From what I can tell you is if that same headline is traveling in huge news stations such as CNN then it is something to think about. This isn’t the time of prohibition, and our economy is good, but that doesn’t stop people from committing crimes. The Missouri couple have been making headlines all week.

Being called the new “Bonnie and Clyde,” the couple made their way across three states while committing grand theft auto, robbery and kidnapping. When finally cornered in Florida, the couple ended their spree with a standoff and shootout with the Escambia County Police Department. When news was received that one part of the couple died in the shootout the media went crazy.

Just like in the headlines and old newspapers I read of the past couple, the media overplayed this couple and their crimes.

I do not believe  the crimes of anyone, let alone of Fitzgerald and Harper, should be glamorized or paint them as “characters” of violence. In the same way the original Bonnie and Clyde were in a sense worshipped as outlaws. Many statements issued by those who rode in their gang suggest that they weren’t anything like the old newspapers or even the 1967 film made them out to be.

It is my hope that, as people follow this case as well as other ones in the past, they compare to previous people and crimes that they don’t do the same. What Fitzgerald and Harper did is crime and only that.

I do not believe Fitzgerald should have died the way he did and I would have much rather seen him get tried by the law.

But as readers and viewers of media, let us not be fooled into thinking that figures of the past or present are anything other than criminals who commited malicious acts.

Criminals should not be put on a pedestal because it gives them the attention they are most likely seeking.

Amina Chinnell-Mateen is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected]