By Florida Bill
The terrible tragedy in a Roseberg Oregon school
has
engendered calls for new gun laws and, correspondingly has triggered
reaction from others that gun control is not the solution to the violence
occurring in our halls of learning. But also, arising out of the
slaughter of innocent students, came a curious reaction from the local
sheriff that public identification of the shooter would "glorify" him
in the eyes of the nation and in the history books which record these catastrophic
events.
Nonetheless, the murderer has been identified as Chris Harper Mercer, a
mentally disturbed loner who had actually been a student in the Umpqua Community
College
Though perhaps well-intentioned, can anyone be as obtuse as Sheriff John Hanlin
who has taken it upon himself to undertake the task of assuring that Mercer does
not become widely known because of the killings.
The shooting had occurred around 10:30 a.m. on a school day morning.
Police arriving exchanged gunfire with and fatally shot Mercer, who had
killed nine persons and had wounded many others in and around a classroom in
Snyder hall of the community college.
During
the immediate hours following the shootings, Sheriff Hanlin declined to
identify the shooter or discuss his background. The identification leaked
out in the early evening and was confirmed by a medical examiner who had the
responsibility of signing the death certificate.
So what has the Sheriff accomplished other than leaving the media and
news reporters in the dark for way too long. Over and over
reporters begged the sheriff to fill the gap and let a nation know who had
committed this horrific act, and why, and to allow the investigation and
reporting of the event to play out. You must wonder what planet Sheriff
Hanin is living on.
I worked as a police reporter for many
years at the Chicago Tribune. The idea that a police official, without
any reason or justification, would withhold the identity of a man who had
killed nine persons is too bizarre to believe. Yet Sheriff Hanlin
did so, and even now, days later, continues to refuse to say the name
of Chris Mercer as his personal way of righting a wrong. The veteran
lawman's reticence is evidence of small-town inexperience with the 24-hour news
world of today. .
For as many years as I know, the media has withheld the names of rape victims
and of juveniles who have committed crimes, even capital
offenses. There is no law on the books which would restrict a
news agency from publishing the names of women who have been assaulted or of
juveniles, but it has become the unwritten law to withhold these names out
of ethics and for other obvious considerations.
It
is easily understood why the publication of the names of sexually assaulted
women would be withheld. There is some debate about juveniles who have committed
heinous crimes. In most cases, however, the names of the perpetrators of crimes
who are under 18 are generally withheld, though not always. The theory is that
immature and wrong-headed youths have a better chance at rehabilitation and
living a decent life if they are not branded in the public eye.
The worst result of Sheriff Hanlin's long
delay in producing a positive identification is that the name of another
non-guilty party was touted in social media for some hours. Likewise, when word
came out that the shooter had specifically targeted Christians, many began to
suspect terrorists, or yet another radical Muslim following his own personal
jihad.
A frightened society that is
left in ignorance will fill the void with dangerous and often mistaken
speculation that can lead to yet more violence.
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