Who speaks up for the prisoner?

The short answer: I do! 

I continue to see an incredible imbalance in news coverage about the release of prisoners. The most flagrant examples of this bias seem to come when TV reporters cover the release of lifers. Some of these people committed crimes when they were teenagers, and the Supreme Court has wisely ruled that we may not give those kids life without parole. Others are perhaps aging, perhaps in failing health, and the Parole Board has decided they are no longer a threat to society. 

Recent coverage about a young man who had committed a heinous crime as a teenager really troubled me. The individual had served many years behind bars, and was now a middle-aged man. All who knew him, even those in the prison system, admitted that he was a changed person and a model prisoner. 

That made no difference to the victims of the crime. 

Neither did it make a difference to TV reporters covering that story. 

OK, now I’m going to put on my newsman cap. Many of you are aware of the fact that I’m an old broadcast journalist. 

I agree that the story is newsworthy and deserves in-depth coverage. What I disagree with is giving 90% of the interviews and comments to the side of the victim(s) and only 10% to the other side. The news story contained lengthy comments by family members of the victim, including bitter statements about the criminal and the justice system. When it was all over, the news people found one guy who was willing to forgive the defendant and give him another chance. That’s all the time that was given to the other side. 

A balance is imperative in a story like this, says newsman Doug Tjapkes. If you’re going to give 3 minutes of air time to victims and their families, 3 more minutes should be given to the inmate. Finding one bystander who is willing to forgive is not coverage…that’s a token. Coverage involves contacting legitimate agencies with a wealth of experience working with incarcerated people (like Humanity for Prisoners!) for comments and observation. It includes interviews with psychology experts like our friend David Myers, author of numerous psychology textbooks, an expert who points out that many young people who commit violent crimes have not fully developed their decision-making skills. 

In addition, it would be so easy to tie in other facts: Michigan has some of the longest prison sentences in the United States; Michigan has the fifth-highest rate of life sentences in the country. 

And, we haven’t even touched observations like this: Long sentences don't make Michigan safer; many people who are incarcerated in Michigan are Black; more than a thousand Michigan inmates are innocent! 

Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not a left-wing do-gooder who wants criminals out on the street. And perhaps it’s true that, in my earlier conservative years as a radio newsman, I didn’t balance my reports, either. 

I’m an old man now, and I’m seeing too much unfairness. Much of it comes in news coverage about the release of prisoners. 

I’m proud to say that I speak up for them!



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