Mountain Island - Carolina Weekly Newspapers

Opinion
Editor: Criminal records
key to open society
Editor
Frank
Deloache
As I get older, I find I try explaining
myself a little more. The Rev. Harold
Bales and his many reading fans may not
appreciate the comparison, but I feel a
tad like my friend, in hoping to explain
why I act the way I do.
In my case, I feel the need to explain
my actions as a journalist.
In the 33 years I’ve been in this crazy
business, I can’t tell you how many
times readers have asked me why I am
determined to ruin their lives by printing
the criminal
charges that they
or their relative or
a friend stand accused
of. In just
the four months
as editor of the
Herald, Mountain
Island and University
City weeklies, I
have had the same
conversation – one
was an exchange of
e-mails – with at least four north Mecklenburg
residents. Interestingly enough,
all four cases concerned teens charged,
and the most recent case of a Mountain
Island-area teen drew an angry letter
from a friend and neighbor of the teen
accusing us of bias in the way in which
we reported the charge.
I had edited that article by Assistant
Editor Andrew Batten before we published
it, and I had asked Herald Assistant
Editor Josh Lanier to call the teen’s
home seeking comment. He left a message,
but no one ever called back.
The article is strikingly unbiased, reporting
the facts straight from a press
release from the Mecklenburg County
Fire Marshal’s office. We were surprised
by the release because we had not heard
of the fire in June and never reported
that $250,000 in heavy equipment and a
refueling truck had been destroyed at the
site of the new River Oaks Academy. The
assistant fire marshal said he could not
go into details until the time of the trial.
We also reported the teen was charged in
March in an unrelated drug case, which
has since been dismissed.
The letter writer didn’t say he was
outraged at the huge loss of property or
even the possible harm that might have
occurred if one of those bulldozers or the
tanker had exploded and sent flames and
shrapnel into the neighborhood. No, the
writer was just concerned that a “minor”
had been “slandered” in the newspaper.
This prompted me to write this column
to set a few facts straight.
First, in the eyes of the law, that teenager
is not a minor. No one 16 or older is
a minor when they commit a crime. Under
state law, they are adults responsible
for their actions, and their names are a
public record available to anyone.
I didn’t write the law, but I agree with
it. Teens have been accused of wielding
guns, robbing and beating people, wrecking
golf courses and drinking alcohol.
Not realizing they are impaired, some
drive, risking their lives and the lives of
anyone else they meet on the road.
So why publish their names I hope
it stops some otherwise smart teenagers
from doing it, and I hope it scares others
who realize they might not get away.
Maybe an adult who reads this will
prevent their teenage son or daughter
from doing something stupid.
Second, neither I nor any of my staff
has known any of the teens we have written
about. Although there are exceptions,
we usually don’t know any of the people
whose names show up in the weekly
Crime Scene list. We don’t publish that
list to embarrass anyone. We purposely
omit routine traffic citations.
We publish the list so our readers can
see where crime is occurring and who
has been charged. They can know what
is happening in their community. We’ve
done it every week since I’ve been editor.
Some have asked me: Why not just report
the crime itself without names
My answer is that anything anonymous,
especially in our society these
days, breeds distrust and skepticism.
Plus, if my history lessons serve me
correctly, I believe our early American
ancestors demanded the courts operate
in the open so, unlike the infamous
Star Chamber of England, people
couldn’t be tried of spurious crimes in
secret and not have a chance to defend
themselves before a jury of their peers.
Openness protects the innocent as well
as the public.
I warned my family many years ago, if I
or one of them is ever charged with driving
while impaired or any worse crime,
I’ll be on the front page, and they will
find themselves somewhere in the paper.
Same goes for members of the Herald’s
news staff. We will treat ourselves like
we treat others, and you have a right to
hold us to that.
Recently, when nine teenagers were
charged with a weeks-long summer rampage
in which they caused thousands of
dollars in damage to the Birkdale Golf
Club, an e-mail from one parent was
waiting on me the morning after the
charges became public. She didn’t want
his name or any information about him
released,
“As a minor, “the mother wrote, “such
information is only detrimental to him
and his well-being, including but not limited
to his immediate family members,”
and she promised that any news outlet
would be “held responsible for neglecting
the request and any personal harm
and mental anguish caused, including
his family members.”
In my response, I explained that her
son is not a minor and we would be
printing his name and picture, as he was
charged with multiple felonies. I also offered
to print her son’s or her side of the
case in the article.
I have yet to hear a word. q
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www.mountainislandweekly.com Mountain Island Weekly • Sept. 18-24, 2009 • Page 11