Mugshots Should Be Kept Private In The Interest Of Justice
I do not like the fact that mugshots of accused people are spread around.
I'm still on the side of "innocent until proven guilty". I have to agree with you that many of the people who get their mugshots put out there look guilty a.f., and that's part of the problem. When a mugshot is posted people immediately make up their mind, usually with the thought of, "oh yeah, he/she did it".
I think a whole other tact should be taken here. Go ahead and take the mugshot. I realize mugshots are important police tools and they also show that arrests are being made. These things could still be valuable if they were posted after a victim was convicted of a crime (in fact, isn't it weird how you only see pictures of the accused but rarely see pictures of the guilty? ).
I'm not going to deny that most of the people who have mugshots released to the public are for crimes like d.u.i., robbery, and gang violence, and those people are mostly caught in the act. Still, we have to remember when someone is "caught in the act" they are still innocent if proven guilty. I think it should also be mentioned that it seems mugshots of people who have committed street-level crimes are published, but you rarely see any white-collar criminals.
I guess the public has a right to know but these mugshots certainly seem to be stacking the deck against these people returning to a normal life if they were unfairly accused. It also brings shame and embarrassment to their family and friends for no good reason. Unfortunately, I know this isn't going to change; people are awful and will continue to take interest in these even if they are unfair (and in some cases unjust). I think we should come up with a plan to do better.
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