[Vision2020] (no subject)

[Art Deco]

Publishing the names of alleged offenders serves several purposes, among 
them:

1.    Serves as a warning/precaution of other people who know or who might 
be potential victims of the accused.  In the case of rape, where many 
offenses go unreported, this is a particular important function.  There are 
many are crimes where similar alerts about the possible offense(s) are 
important, such as child sexual abuse.  Failure for parents to find out that 
a potential sexual predator has possible access to their child may lead to 
further unnecessary tragedies.  The same is true of other crimes:  DUI, 
theft, bunco, assault, etc.

2.    It reminds the public and potential offenders that if they offend and 
are caught or there at least exists probable cause to believe they have 
offended, then they will receive unwelcome publicity.  The fear of bad 
publicity has been shown to be a deterrent for many people.  An experiment 
with this in Boundary County by a newspaper editor in the early 1980s 
reduced the infraction and misdemeanor rate about 75% in about 6 months time 
until a new editor discontinued the practice of printing all arrests and 
infractions and their final dispositions.

One would hope that everyone knows that an arrest is legally different from 
a conviction.  The tentative nature of an arrest should be evident.

Further, all arrests are matters of public record.  If the media or the law 
enforcement people didn't publish the names, then others could and probably 
would.  In fact, there has been some off-list discussion of regularly 
posting names and alleged offenses from all law enforcement activities in 
Latah County.

What would really be a community service of the various media would be to 
show the final disposition of all arrests and infractions:  What the 
original charge(s) was/(were) and what the results of a trial or plea 
bargain was/(were).  The public would not only be informed but surprised and 
really pissed off at some of the plea bargains and some of the non-actions 
that occur.

W.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chasuk" <chasuk at gmail.com>
To: "Jennifer McFarland" <jmcfarland at latah.id.us>
Cc: "ZFun" <newsroom at idavend.com>; "Daily News" <rbentley at dnews.com>; "Paul 
Emerson" <pemerson at lmtribune.com>; "KREM" <newsdesk at krem.com>; "KHQ" 
<trinity.spencer at khq.com>; "Alexis" <abacharach at dnews.com>; "Omie Drawhorn" 
<odrawhorn at dnews.com>; "Moscow Vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>; "KLEW 
Greg Meyer" <klewnews at klewtv.com>; "Kalyn Burnet" 
<officemgr at lataheagle.com>; "Evan Ellis khtr/kqqq" <khtr at aol.com>; "Dave 
Johnson" <deveryone at potlatch.com>; "Glenn" <glenn at inlandradio.com>; "KXLY" 
<news4 at kxly.com>; "Greg Meyer" <greg.mey at klewtv.com>; "Maggie" 
<maggie at inlandradio.com>; "Marcus Crossler" <marcus at inlandradio.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 20, 2006 8:08 PM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] (no subject)


> On 4/19/06, Jennifer McFarland <jmcfarland at latah.id.us> wrote:
>
>> On 4/19/2006 at approximately 02:12, deputies responded to a rape report 
>> at
>> a residence between Moscow and Troy on Hwy. 8.  The 30 year-old female
>> victim reported that Darlo Doran Tolan II, a 19 year-old Coflax man,
>> forcibly and repeatedly raped her.
>
> While I have no reason to  doubt that this incident occurred precisely
> as reported, I do wonder whether it is ethical to publish the name of
> the merely accused.  Rape is an especially heinous crime, and it
> carries with it a permanent taint, regardless of the final verdict.
>
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