“The headlines and ledes of these reports leave no doubt that those accused were guilty. How, one might ask, would these media outlets know all 355 people arrested were “violent criminals” before they’ve had a trial, much less been convicted of anything? Only 41 of the arrests disclosed by prosecutors were for violent offenses (22 for assault, eight for homicide, six for sexual offenses, four for sexual assault, and one for arson). The rest are either unknown or for drugs, burglary, failure to register as a sex offender, or weapons possession.“

The Appeal

September 3, 2019