6/10/20

ACAB: Floyd death prompts Gannett to post fewer mugshot galleries


Yes, cops' lives suck. Little wonder they abuse their families, alcohol, drugs, food, power, detainees and occasionally murder their wives.

Lee Newspapers are infamous for publishing arrest mugshot galleries and the Billings Gazette is among the worst offenders.

As most Americans know, if you're Black and/or Brown in the United Snakes you're more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession. Mugshots of the accused are chilling effects on the protections of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments because unflattering images published in the media automatically convict the accused by tampering with the witness pool. Mugshots of suspects should be unavailable to media because those portraits give prosecutors prejudice during plea negotiations.

Gannett, the largest newspaper company in the United States, stopped publishing arrest mugshots on the websites of former GateHouse papers on Tuesday, several months after the two companies merged. The move comes as George Floyd’s killing by a police officer in Minneapolis on May 25 has galvanized a movement demanding not only an end to systemic racism but sweeping changes to America’s criminal justice system. Critics have long viewed the practice as unfair to those arrested because of the presumption of innocence. Many also say it disproportionately targets minorities. [Orlando Sentinel]



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