SLAMMER

I was shocked when I saw a publication called Slammer at a gas station next to my office. The link is below:

http://www.slammernews.com/palm_beach_co_fl.htm

The link is to the Palm Beach edition. The edition I saw was the Broward County edition. The cover stated “first issue. COLLECTIBLE!” I bought a copy for a $1.00 just because it struck me. The publication has arrest pictures plastered all over its first page and all throughout the publication.

The rationale is that this ok to do because the pictures are public record. I don’t think it’s fair to someone arrested for possessing less than 20 ounces of cannabis or a DUI or any misdemeanor. Some of the people on the cover where arrested for driving with a suspended license. Let me tell you, in Florida you can get your license suspended for anything.

I guess the point is that just because something is public record doesn’t mean that it should be used for publication purposes. Journalist should be responsible and try to avoid embarrassing someone if possible. I see no justification for publishing a picture of 17-year-old who was arrested for driving with a suspended license. We don’t know if this individual is guilty and publishing their picture in a weekly publication amounts to a sort of punishment. In fact, a punishment which could be harsher than any imposed by a court.

An example, a person could be arrested for possession of cannabis and then found to be not guilty. Meanwhile, the person’s boss sees the picture and fires him/her.
It could be argued that newspapers publish suspect’s names before there is a determination as to their guilt. However, most of the crimes reported in regular media tend to be about more substantial crimes like murder, manslaughter, drug trafficking, etc.