THE NEW MAYOR AND his new police chief say they need your help tracking down people suspected of rape, murder and armed robbery.So the city released the names, images and last know addresses of 150 criminal suspects.
"We want all Philadelphians to know who these individuals are, the crimes they've committed," Mayor Michael Nutter said at a press conference.
Should the media run these images? Should the media run this information? These people are considered suspects. They have not been convicted of these crimes yet (although a few were convicted of other crimes in the past).
How does this compare to the Temple rape case?
Does your opinion change based upon the severity of the crime?
12 comments:
I think that the media was right to run the images. Philadelphia has become one of the most dangerous cities in America. Every year, the homicide rate gets higher. Something drastic needed to be done. I think Ramsey will be the best thing to happen to Philadelphia.
So, because our crime situation is so dire, we should run these images and spread the information about these people? Even though they are still only suspects at this point?
- George (the clarifying teacher)
Ummm. Police run photos of suspects all the time. And have been doing it since the early 1900's.
This definitely can be compared to the Temple rape case. I don't think these images should have been run in this situation though.
150 suspects.
150.
Suspects.
There is a very very strong chance that not all of these men are guilty. I think its much different than showing the face of one man from my university, but releasing the images and addresses of 150 is wrong. None of these men have been proven guilty are there are definitely some that are being wrongly accused.
What is Nutter talking about? Crimes they've committed? They haven't been found guilty yet.
Yo anonymous,
Police don't run pictures anywhere. They don't have an outlet. They provide images to the media, who then have the option of running the images.
Just because the cops are looking for people, the people are bad? Do you really trust the police department, the government and the judicial system that blindly?
- George (the clarifying and curious teacher)
This may be a rather extreme action taken by authority figures in Philadelphia, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Suspects are suspected for a reason, they do not just select people to tarnish the names of at random. If this move even brings a handful of guilty people to justice, I think it's worth it.
I dont have a problem with it. If they have the addresses and information but cant get in contact with them they probably have something to hide. I'll gladly call the police if i see them. I dont think this is he same as the Temple Rape case. I think its more severe if the mayor feels that he needs to do this.
This is bad, real bad. In a way these people are stripped from their right of due process. Once these pictures hit the fan, they're branded for life. Granted, there can be a possibility that 2/3's of the people in that list could be guilty, but what about the poor guy whose wrongly accused. Especially in a crime so delicate such as rape. Who cares right? As long as we "think" something is being done about crime.Lets put 'em all away. What if it was YOU ?
Not only are 150 men now branded, but this is Philadelphia. Like said above, it is becoming one of the most dangerous places in the country. So what's going to stop someone from seeing one of the 150 men on the street and killing them? I mean, they are suspects of rape, rape is bad. Thats what we have always been told. Someone would have just been "protecting" us. Isn't that what the mayor and police chief wanted??....
I don't feel that it is right to put the images and/or addresses of suspects on the internet. Afterall, these people are suspects.Unless I missed something, I didn't see any information saying that these people were convicted of the crimes they are suspected of committing. While I am all for stopping the spread of crime, I feel that this type of exposure could place these people in great danger, in addition to eliminating any possible opportunity for them to receive a fair trial. Many people will figure that if their pictures were displayed across the internet in this manner, then they must be guilty and that I feel is wrong.
I think that it is good idea to let society know all those criminals, but I know if one of them men passed me, I wouldnt think "ohhh thats one of those suspects on the wanted list".
These 150 "suspects" have all done something to at least be considered. Personally, I feel the extent of the crime doesn't matter. If one performs any type of illegal action or is suspected of such, they deserve to be published publicly. Like previous comments stated Philadelphia is a dangerous city, crimes intended for shoplifting are turning into murders. Maybe this could be positive for our city by preventing these suspects from attempting further crimes. Also, it is definitely sketchy that they have gathered information on these people, yet they are unable to track them down?
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