Front Pages from All America 7/20
Every day, I comb through the front pages of all the daily papers in America (provided via?The Freedom Forum) and will highlight 5-10 front page items that have national significance, with my quick commentary
The Atlanta Journal Constitution (Georgia)
THE FRONT PAGE STORY: AJC Issues Corrections in UGA Football Story
WHY IT MATTERS: The newspaper made waves earlier this month with a story claiming that the University of Georgia's football program does not punish or scrutinize players enough for alleged sexual misconduct.
THE TAKEAWAY: While the AJC did not retract its story, some key problems were exposed including an assertion that 11 players accused of misconduct remained on the roster when there was no evidence that number was correct. The investigative reporter/writer of the story has been fired.
The Montgomery Advertiser (Alabama)
THE FRONT PAGE STORY: State Execution Set
WHY IT MATTERS: Alabama lifted its moratorium on executions earlier this year, but the process is still hampered by difficulty in obtaining lethal injection drugs. Whether this execution for James Edward Barber will be carried out in the time allotted is still in doubt.
THE TAKEAWAY: It's not clear how anti-death penalty groups, who claim to have humanitarian reasons for opposing the death penalty, can justify the very inhumane process of forcing states to either use faulty lethal injection drugs or more brutal forms of execution.
The Commercial News (Illinois)
领英推荐
THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Cash Bail will end in Illinois as Justices Say SAFE-T Act Provisions Constitutional
WHY IT MATTERS: Even as no-cash bail programs in other areas of the country are bringing major headaches and cases of recidivism, Illinois Democratic-controlled legislature and judiciary are moving ahead with this idea.
THE TAKEAWAY: It wasn't so long ago in America when both parties aggressively vied for the honor of being recognized as being the most effective at reducing crime and being tough on criminals. Those days are over, and public safety is suffering because of it.
The Merced Sun-Star (California)
THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Stanford President Steps Down over Research "Flaws"
WHY IT MATTERS: Stanford has become America's #1 most-selective college, putting an extra spotlight on its leaders.
THE TAKEAWAY: The now ex-president's "research flaws" were actually a more blatant form of plagiarism discovered by the Stanford student newspaper. Marc Tessier-Lavigne fought for months to quiet the charges, but failed. These are the kinds of things that are bound to happen when every dissertation or published paper supposedly has to meet a standard of complete originality: people will start to make things up.
The Connecticut Post (Connecticut)
THE FRONT PAGE STORY: "Independent" Firm to Probe False Tickets
WHY IT MATTERS: In order to make it look like more white motorists were getting tickets, state troopers in Connecticut are accused of falsely boosting the numbers of tickets issued into the state record books.
THE TAKEAWAY: Racism may be just one of the factors in why a disproportionate number of black drivers are getting tickets in any particular state. Whatever the reason, it hardly seems like even the legitimate ticketing policies are really aimed at improving road safety.
The "cash bail" system of requiring a defendant to put up a bail bond (which requires a 10% non-refundable cash payment to a bail bondsman) keeps many arrestees in jail pending trial, which creates an enormous pressure for defendants to plead guilty because they know that they will spend more time in jail awaiting trial (even if acquitted) than they would if they pled guilty and received "time served". The federal system largely exists without "cash bail", and nobody contends that the federal system boosts crime. Instead, federal arrestees ordinarily (except for drug cases) are presumed to be entitled to bail, which usually is a recognizance bond (often with co-signers), which means that the court gets the bail money ONLY IF the defendant fails to show up for trial. There is no need to put money up front. The cash bail system in most states largely makes a mockery of the Eighth Amendment's guarantee that "excessive bail shall not be required." https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/eighth_amendment