To receive the “High-Profile” classification, a case must either revolve around an influential person, have major controversy, or receive mass media attention.
The issue with high profile cases is how mass coverage influences the public opinion. This in turn can influence the legal process, unintentionally creating an unfair trial.
In cases surrounding violent crime, victims and their families become the target of political and monetary exploitation, having their stories turned into a tool to push a political agenda or an opportunity for a greedy producer to create another dramatized “docu-series” for people to treat like entertainment.
High profile cases go hand in hand with the perfect/beautiful victim archetype. Most high profile cases are young, beautiful white women from wealthy families.
The media purposely makes these girls the faces of unjust suffering not out of compassion, but because they know what will cause the most public outrage.