People’s Exhibit X

People’s Exhibit X · INTERNAL STANDARDS DOCUMENT

EDITORIAL STANDARDS

FOR VIOLENT CRIME CASES · PUBLIC EDITION

People’s Exhibit X is for ages 16 and up.

THE PRINCIPLE

We don't exclude homicides. We are sensitive to victims, and we do not glorify the violence.

OPERATIONAL RULES

  1. Clues are about the investigation, not the act.

    Exhibits focus on evidence, forensics, legal significance, the manhunt, the trial, the aftermath. The crime is identified, never narrated.

  2. No suffering detail.

    No descriptions of wounds, methods beyond case-identifying necessity, final moments, or fear. If a detail's only function is visceral impact, it's out.

  3. Victims are people, not props.

    Where a victim is named, the full-file debrief gives them at least a human clause: who they were, not just what happened to them. Victims' names are never the puzzle mechanic unless the case is genuinely victim-centered in the public record.

  4. Prefer non-perpetrator keywords where equally fair.

    The capture, the evidence, the place, the case name: these make better answers than killer names, shifting the puzzle's center of gravity from perpetrator to investigation. Perpetrator keywords are allowed, but the clue set around them must read as documentation, not fandom.

  5. No record-keeping framing.

    No superlatives that rank killers as if violence were an achievement. Scale can be stated factually in the debrief where historically necessary, never as a hook.

  6. Recency and raw-grief test.

    Cases where victims' families are in an active news cycle, litigation, or fresh mourning wait. Historical distance, a concluded legal process, or a family that has publicly engaged with media coverage all weigh toward inclusion. When in doubt, hold the case.

  7. Tone separation.

    Playfulness is reserved for heists, cons, and frauds. Homicide files carry a documentary register: same game, quieter voice. No winking.

  8. The credential check.

    Every violent-crime case gets a final read with one question: would a criminologist put their professional credential behind this file in front of a victims' advocacy audience? If the answer hesitates, revise or pull.

  9. Mass-casualty attacks are excluded as a category.

    Mass shootings and terrorist attacks targeting the public are not puzzle subjects, regardless of framing, historical distance, or policy relevance.

STANDING PROCESS

Violent-crime batches receive the standard fact-check pass plus a rules 1–9 pass, logged case by case.