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Online, mug shots are forever. Some states want to change that By Lindsey Van Ness, Stateline.org
Published: May 16, 2021, 2:45pm
Share: The wall of shame. Lawmakers across the U.S. are moving to stop police from releasing booking photos unless the arrestee failed to appear for court, was a fugitive or was convicted. (Dreamstime/TNS)
After a weekend in the Burleigh County, North Dakota, detention center last summer, Dustin Gawrylow was relieved when the state’s attorney decided not to press charges against him.
Gawrylow, 38, had been in a fistfight with his brother a “brotherly scuffle,” he called it and was surprised to be arrested after going to the police to explain what happened.
After a weekend in the Burleigh County, N.D., detention center last summer, Dustin Gawrylow was relieved when the stateâs attorney decided not to press charges against him.
Gawrylow, 38, had been in a fistfight with his brother â a âbrotherly scuffle,â he called it â and was surprised to be arrested after going to the police to explain what happened.
But even though his charges didnât stick around, his booking photo did.
âIn the meantime, my mug shot got out, and it circulated widely in political circles,â said Gawrylow, who in 2012 started the North Dakota Watchdog Network, a libertarian-leaning group that advocates for lower taxes and less government spending.
| Updated: 6:03 p.m.
Utahns charged with crimes are about to face “super unpredictable” decisions about whether they can be released or must wait in jail for their case to be heard, some prosecutors and defense attorneys warn, after state lawmakers reversed recent reforms.
Taking away the freedom of someone still presumed innocent can compromise his or her ability to keep a job, hold down housing and care for family members some of the concerns at the heart of Rep. Stephanie Pitcher’s successful push to change Utah’s bail system in 2020.
Her bill, HB206, shifted Utah away from asking defendants to pay set dollar amounts based on their charges to asking judges to assess the risk they pose, including the safety of witnesses, victims and the public.
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Online, Mug Shots Are Forever. Some States Want to Change That.
Dustin Gawrylow, left, whose mug shot once circulated online after he was arrested but not charged, voices opposition to a ballot measure in Bismarck, North Dakota. The state is one of six where lawmakers have discussed legislation that would stem the publication of mug shots before a conviction.
Tom Stromme
The Bismarck Tribune via The Associated Press
After a weekend in the Burleigh County, North Dakota, detention center last summer, Dustin Gawrylow was relieved when the state’s attorney decided not to press charges against him.