The way the news media uses mugshots has to change
MINOT, N.D. — Adam Martin is the founder and CEO of the F5 Project , an organization that helps current and former inmates find their way back into society.
In a recent letter to the editor , Martin let journalists have it, arguing that the way we report crime is often exploitative. He made particular note of the use of police booking mugshots.
He has a point.
Allow me to illustrate it with an anecdote.
Last year a day care provider saw felony charges against her dropped for lack of evidence. Sarah Babinchak, 35 of Carpio, North Dakota, had been facing two charges, including Class B felony child abuse and Class B felony aggravated assault on a child under the age of 12, related to the injury of a child while in her care.
