Published: November 05, 2009 09:46 pm      

More coverage should have been given to officers’ acquittal

I would like to point out something of interest. The Times-News has proven yet again that the media is all about the negative events that occur in our communities.

Not much print space is given to those good things that happen around us everyday. The Times-News will give a big bold headline article when someone has been charged with an alleged crime. If that same person is then acquitted of that crime, they are lucky to get a small column in the paper that could be easily overlooked.

A perfect case in point is the recent situation when numerous correctional officers were fired and charged with beating inmates at facilities in Hagerstown and Cumberland.

Large headline articles were printed about them and how they allegedly assaulted inmates. Let me take a moment to say that I in no way condone the mistreatment of any person, inmate or not. These officers’ lives were turned upside down not only by the situation but the articles that made the public very aware of every detail of the situation.

There have been several officers who have been tried and convicted of crimes related to these assaults at which time the Times-News published detailed trial information in the paper. On Wednesday, three officers where acquitted of charges related to the beating of an inmate at a Hagerstown jail.

Was this published in detail in the newspaper? No! This was published in the Oct. 9 edition as a small article at the end of the Police-Fire Log.

These gentlemen have an uphill battle ahead of them to get their lives back on track after this long process. I feel that had the article been a bit bigger in size, they might have an easier path to follow.

I am sure they have endured a lot of public criticism during this time. They deserved a bigger article to show they were acquitted of these charges.

The media should be a little more concerned with the positive things in life and stop focusing so much attention on only the negative things.

Kristi Dougherty Wiley

Rawlings