I thought you might be interested in two things from old radio shows from the 40s and 50s. I listen on SiriusXM Radio Classics:

1. Roy Rogers and the gang were chasing smugglers, with 50 Mexicans hiding in the back of a truck. The smugglers decided they’d better get rid of the evidence so they dumped the Mexicans over a cliff into a ravine. I am not exaggerating this.
2. The other extreme was a radio Gunsmoke where a lady was beaten to the point of death by her husband and somehow made it into town to see Doc, who called Marshal Matt Dillon. They got the lady safe, and fought with the husband when he came into town demanding his wife back. “She is my wife, I can beat her if I want…” They got him away, her stabil and safe. But soon after she came into the marshal’s office and announced she was returning home. That her place was with her husband. Pretty progressive for the 1950s.