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When we start picking and choosing what the public may know about crimes or the actions of their local police departments, where does it end?
Ohio's legislature must act quickly to make changes to a law intended to protect victims' rights. It has undoubtedly removed transparency on crimes and limits information about what is happening in neighborhoods.
A sweeping piece of victims' rights legislation known as Marsy's Law went into effect in April following an affirmative vote at the ballot box in a constitutional amendment. The law was codified in the Ohio Legislature.
Known as the Ohio Crime Victims' Bill of Rights, Marsy's Law states that crime victims "have the right to reasonable notice, to be present and heard at all court proceedings, to be informed of the release of the offender, to offer input on negotiated pleas, to a prompt conclusion of their case, and to restitution for economic losses resulting from the criminal offense or delinquent act."
That much is reasonable.
The challenges come with the requirement that victims be provided a Victim's Rights Request Form, asking if he or she wants name, address and identifying information removed from law enforcement records, prosecution records and/or court records when such records are requested by the public or news media. It also removes age and gender.
Further, this law means blocking release of the address of a crime if it occurs at the victim's home and the victim wishes it withheld. Residents in the neighborhood will not know the location of the crime because the media will have no access to the location to report it.
And what if a police officer on duty is the victim of a crime? Doesn't the public have a right to know about what happened to the officer? What happens when a police officer is involved in a shooting and claims to be the victim?
NBC Channel 4 in Columbus reported a new barrier to transparency. On July 9, multiple Columbus police officers exchanged gunfire with men at the end of a robbery chase. The shootout left a Columbus police officer seriously injured.
Two days later, Columbus police said Marsy's Law required names of officers involved to be withheld. Because the suspects were shooting at the officers, all the officers were considered victims. Before the changes to Marsy's Law, police departments did not have a legal reason to justify hiding officers' identities.
Few would object to informing and protecting crime victims. But government must be accountable to the people.
Lawmakers must investigate and revise Marsy's Law to root out unintended consequences and problems. Otherwise, with the creation of each new barrier to transparency, we -- the public -- lose.