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> I'm surprised mugshots are other such aren't sealed until after a conviction. That sounds closer and closer to secret arrest. The public has a right to know
by jMyles 8y ago
> I'm surprised mugshots are other such aren't sealed until after a conviction.
That sounds closer and closer to secret arrest. The public has a right to know who the government has arrested and why.
By sealing them until after conviction, it makes it sound like the mugshot is punishment. It isn't. It's a public record to check the government against secretly arresting people (or intentionally arresting the wrong people).
- sundvor 8y agoIf you don't think having your face posted on the internet even prior to conviction, with all this entails, is punishment, then I admire the reality distortion field that lets you see the world that way. Speaking as someone who grew up in a sane country. (Norway).
- jMyles 8y agoI think you are correct, but that's just part of the problem that we've been convinced to attribute guilt even in the absence of proof, on the state's say-so alone. We need instead to presume that everybody who is arrested (and whose mugshot is posted) is innocent unless compelling evidence, based on sworn testimony, is presented. I don't see how adding secrecy is a solution to extrajudicial punishment.