Me!
So the other evening I was randomly googling images of myself, (don’t ask why) and what should I find but the photo of another Nicola Ramsey on the South Carolina Mugshot Database.
The other Nicola Ramsey lives in South Carolina.
The other Nicola was arrested for accepting stolen property.
I am not THAT Nicola Ramsey.
The other Nicola Ramsey lives in South Carolina.
The other Nicola was arrested for accepting stolen property.
I am not THAT Nicola Ramsey.
The other Nicola Ramsey
But the site got me thinking.
What if I was THAT Nicola Ramsey?
That would have been MY face plastered over the internet in an orange jumpsuit, looking like some kind of convict, when in fact I had not been tried or found guilty.
That would have been ME who would have to pay some unknown and unnamed corporation $99 to have my image removed from their site.
Oh yes, the fine print might say THAT Nicola Ramsey is presumed innocent- but the big print suggests otherwise.
What if I was THAT Nicola Ramsey?
That would have been MY face plastered over the internet in an orange jumpsuit, looking like some kind of convict, when in fact I had not been tried or found guilty.
That would have been ME who would have to pay some unknown and unnamed corporation $99 to have my image removed from their site.
Oh yes, the fine print might say THAT Nicola Ramsey is presumed innocent- but the big print suggests otherwise.
There aren’t any similar websites in Canada, although the Canadian press does publish pictures of people who have been arrested in high profile cases. Governments in Ontario and Alberta maintain galleries of images of people who have failed to provide child support payments. Is that any different? For a commentary on the Alberta Maintenance Enforcement site, see this column from the Calgary Sun.
What about “innocent until proven guilty?” What about a person’s right to privacy? Who owns your image anyway? Is it in the public interest to publish photos of people who have been charged with a crime, if they have not been convicted? And how does it relate to the role of government in liberal democracies where elected officials and those who vote for them struggle to find a balance between individual rights and the common good?
What about “innocent until proven guilty?” What about a person’s right to privacy? Who owns your image anyway? Is it in the public interest to publish photos of people who have been charged with a crime, if they have not been convicted? And how does it relate to the role of government in liberal democracies where elected officials and those who vote for them struggle to find a balance between individual rights and the common good?
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