3 ms·

This generally makes sense to me, but what signifies "significant crimes" besides murder, which is mentioned in the article? I had a friend who was all over the

This generally makes sense to me, but what signifies "significant crimes" besides murder, which is mentioned in the article? I had a friend who was all over the news after being charged with multiple counts of rape and sodomy. He was completely acquitted and the case never went to trial. Still, he'll never clear his name online. That being said, I'm not saying I know what the rules should be.

e40 5y ago
Other countries have laws that prohibit suspects from being named. I wish we had those laws because the follow up is never going to happen. You can't unring a bell that someone is a rapist, when they are found to be innocent or the charges are dropped.
- JumpCrisscross 5y ago
  > laws that prohibit suspects from being named The downside of these laws is, in the case of arrests, it makes disappearing people easier.
  - maest 5y ago
    You mean by the state?
  - uuidgen 5y ago
    Not really. If police is corrupt and want someone to disappear they just won't create arrest records. US police was using black-sites where people disappeared without problem. On the other hand public arrest record put a great opportunity for malice and blackmail - do what I want or I'll arrest you for allegedly molesting a minor. Charges will be dropped but good luck clearing your name ever. Now pay up.
    - JumpCrisscross 5y ago
      > If police is corrupt and want someone to disappear they just won't create arrest records Departments routinely doing this get caught. (They have.) Of course if it’s corrupt all the way up you’re screwed. But the aim is to create grappling points for the Feds and state Attorneys General on e.g. city cops. Showing a pattern of undocumented arrests or of the arrested going missing is easier when arrest records are public. It’s a tradeoff between the power of the state over the public versus the power of the public over itself.
    - Talanes 5y ago
      Arrest records are fine as long as the follow-up is located in the same place. Though a voluntary process to expunge records that didn't lead to conviction wouldn't be amiss either.
  - anigbrowl 5y ago
    Is there any evidence that this is a problem in comparable jurisdictions, though?
  - mLuby 5y ago
    Have faith in the free market! Companies which are owed mortgage/rent and credit card/cell phone/insurance bills etc. will do their utmost to make sure the person isn't actually disappeared or deceased.
    - brokenmachine 5y ago
      The top comment here was by someone who committed credit card fraud, lol. On the other hand, I'm sure an insurance company got paid.
beerandt 5y ago
That and the other end of the spectrum, as well. Will they omit names from minor stories where a person might have just done/said something embarrassing, controversial, or hateful, but not illegal. Or possibly illegal, but not charged/cited/arrested? All the recent news stories on various "Karen" interactions come to mind.
- handmodel 5y ago
  There definitely seems to be a weird spot where people consciously want to give the benefit of the doubt/second chance for those who erred and are in the legal system - and an opposite reaction where there is no chance for repentance if the err was a cultural thing outside the legal system.
  - _jal 5y ago
    > where there is no chance for repentance if the err was a cultural thing outside the legal system So, two thoughts: - People react to bad actors exactly because there is no other corrective mechanism than shaming. - I don't know where this notion of "forever pariah" came from. Seems to me nearly every high profile case of someone being "canceled" is actually a more of an "embarrassed pause" - they got called out for being horrible, maybe lost their job, and... are back a year or so later. Where are the hordes of cancelled people who got a life sentence? Did we start a Misfit Island they're all banished to when I was looking?
    - WalterBright 5y ago
      There's the stock car driver who got his ride cancelled because his father made some bad comments before he was born.
      - herbstein 5y ago
        Who? The NASCAR driver Kyle Larson casually called someone the n-word live on stream at the start of the pandemic, and is back driving full-time again now in 2021. He's by far the highest profile case of a "cancellation" in stock car racing, and he is an example of the "temporary, embarrassed hiatus" claim.
Justsignedup 5y ago
I think the problem is that they don't follow up. That's the policy that is needed.
- aeternum 5y ago
  In that case, shouldn't the policy be to only report on convictions? Even in that case, the internet now never forgets. One small mistake when young can impact one's future significantly. The memory of humanity of a whole continues to expand exponentially. Could lead to some interesting outcomes.
  - jakelazaroff 5y ago
    I don't think that's the answer. People can be wrongfully convicted.
gnicholas 5y ago
> He was completely acquitted and the case never went to trial Doesn't acquittal require going to trial? Or do you mean the charges were dropped before trial?

e40 5y ago

Other countries have laws that prohibit suspects from being named. I wish we had those laws because the follow up is never going to happen. You can't unring a bell that someone is a rapist, when they are found to be innocent or the charges are dropped.

JumpCrisscross 5y ago
> laws that prohibit suspects from being named The downside of these laws is, in the case of arrests, it makes disappearing people easier.
- maest 5y ago
  You mean by the state?
- uuidgen 5y ago
  Not really. If police is corrupt and want someone to disappear they just won't create arrest records. US police was using black-sites where people disappeared without problem. On the other hand public arrest record put a great opportunity for malice and blackmail - do what I want or I'll arrest you for allegedly molesting a minor. Charges will be dropped but good luck clearing your name ever. Now pay up.
  - JumpCrisscross 5y ago
    > If police is corrupt and want someone to disappear they just won't create arrest records Departments routinely doing this get caught. (They have.) Of course if it’s corrupt all the way up you’re screwed. But the aim is to create grappling points for the Feds and state Attorneys General on e.g. city cops. Showing a pattern of undocumented arrests or of the arrested going missing is easier when arrest records are public. It’s a tradeoff between the power of the state over the public versus the power of the public over itself.
  - Talanes 5y ago
    Arrest records are fine as long as the follow-up is located in the same place. Though a voluntary process to expunge records that didn't lead to conviction wouldn't be amiss either.
- anigbrowl 5y ago
  Is there any evidence that this is a problem in comparable jurisdictions, though?
- mLuby 5y ago
  Have faith in the free market! Companies which are owed mortgage/rent and credit card/cell phone/insurance bills etc. will do their utmost to make sure the person isn't actually disappeared or deceased.
  - brokenmachine 5y ago
    The top comment here was by someone who committed credit card fraud, lol. On the other hand, I'm sure an insurance company got paid.

beerandt 5y ago

That and the other end of the spectrum, as well. Will they omit names from minor stories where a person might have just done/said something embarrassing, controversial, or hateful, but not illegal. Or possibly illegal, but not charged/cited/arrested? All the recent news stories on various "Karen" interactions come to mind.

handmodel 5y ago
There definitely seems to be a weird spot where people consciously want to give the benefit of the doubt/second chance for those who erred and are in the legal system - and an opposite reaction where there is no chance for repentance if the err was a cultural thing outside the legal system.
- _jal 5y ago
  > where there is no chance for repentance if the err was a cultural thing outside the legal system So, two thoughts: - People react to bad actors exactly because there is no other corrective mechanism than shaming. - I don't know where this notion of "forever pariah" came from. Seems to me nearly every high profile case of someone being "canceled" is actually a more of an "embarrassed pause" - they got called out for being horrible, maybe lost their job, and... are back a year or so later. Where are the hordes of cancelled people who got a life sentence? Did we start a Misfit Island they're all banished to when I was looking?
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    There's the stock car driver who got his ride cancelled because his father made some bad comments before he was born.
    - herbstein 5y ago
      Who? The NASCAR driver Kyle Larson casually called someone the n-word live on stream at the start of the pandemic, and is back driving full-time again now in 2021. He's by far the highest profile case of a "cancellation" in stock car racing, and he is an example of the "temporary, embarrassed hiatus" claim.

Justsignedup 5y ago

I think the problem is that they don't follow up. That's the policy that is needed.

aeternum 5y ago
In that case, shouldn't the policy be to only report on convictions? Even in that case, the internet now never forgets. One small mistake when young can impact one's future significantly. The memory of humanity of a whole continues to expand exponentially. Could lead to some interesting outcomes.
- jakelazaroff 5y ago
  I don't think that's the answer. People can be wrongfully convicted.

gnicholas 5y ago

> He was completely acquitted and the case never went to trial Doesn't acquittal require going to trial? Or do you mean the charges were dropped before trial?