My comment was removed from this article. Why?

Former Emery Co Sheriff's Captain commits suicide

I was the first (that I know of) to comment on this article and felt I had made a very objective commentary to the article. Apparently the Deseret News disagrees.

Here is my post to that article. You decide.


His suicide should not be an indicator of guilt. These allegations are the worst to be accused of. The previous article alleges the abuse occurred over a ten year period. As most law enforcement people know, these allegation cases are the most difficult to disprove, generally requires no physical evidence to back these allegations and jury prejudice is easily acquired and the risk of a guilty verdict is extremely risky. Too many of these cases result in plea deals in avoidance of "life or extended" prison sentences and the known risks of going to prison. Aside from this, the stigma of these allegations is life altering, even where the accused is cleared and found innocent. People's fears and assumptions drive their judgments and decisions and tend to favor toward the victim regardless of the lack of evidence or the presence of reasonable doubt. Who knows if this man was innocent or guilty because the case will never be heard. Nonetheless he will likely be remembered not by the good things he accomplished in his life, but for these allegations, whether they are true or not and the families left behind will continue to deal with long after he is gone.


As an update...I just received an email from the Deseret News that my commentary has now been approved and posted to this article. I'm not sure why, but the original denial was based upon a violation of their posting policy. Nonetheless, my comments are in both places now! Thanks for reading!

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