Deciding what is worthy journalism can be tricky sometimes. There can be severe unforeseen consequences if one chooses to report on the aberrant behavior of an individual, regardless of whether the facts come from the public records of the courts.
- Machiavelli: "The offenses one does to a man should be such that one fears no revenge for it."
- The subject of your story wins his defamation suit against you for a negotiated settlement..
- The subject is already in the custody of authorities for a very long time.
- The subject is dead.
- The subject is not an individual singled out for criticism.
Here's the timeline of the case
- 2009-2010 Social Media communication between Jarrod W. Ramos and a former classmate from high school begins. Ramos mentions that she was the only person at school who spoke to him and was nice to him.
- By April of 2010, the former classmate becomes disturbed and attempts a clarification of their relationship, ultimately telling Ramos not to contact her again.
- Later that month: Ramos replies in anger and begins a campaign of retribution by contacting her employers. She is put on probation at her work.
- September 2010 She is eventually laid-off. She contacts police when she learns what happened.
- November 2010 Ramos begins counseling.
- July 26, 2011: Jarrod W. Ramos enters a guilty plea on the charge of criminal harassment, gets a 90 day suspended sentence and 18 months of supervised probation.
- July 31, 2011: The Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis Maryland files a detailed story by staff writer Eric Thomas Hartley "Jarrod wants to be your friend" (Begins on page 2) Ramos begins a social media harassment campaign against the Capital Gazette.
- July 23, 2012: Ramos files a complaint charging defamation in the Circuit Court of Prince George County, but failed to serve a copy of the complaint on the Capital Gazette. The case could not proceed.
- October 9, 2012: Ramos files a fuller complaint with the added charge against the Capital Gazette for invasion of privacy.
- November 26, 2012: Capital Gazette files a motion to dismiss the case with prejudice and a request for a hearing.
- March 9, 2013: Full hearing was conducted. The judge ruled against Ramos.
- May 2013: Capital Gazette reports receiving threats from Ramos to police. Capital Gazette decides not to pursue legal action as it might "exacerbate the situation."
- Summer of 2014: Ramos loses his job at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- February 2, 2015: Ramos tweets implied threats of death to Capital Gazette, referring to Charlie Hebo shooting in Paris, France
- 2016: Courts rejected Ramos' last round of appeals.
- June 28, 2018 2:40 pm Thursday: Ramos begins shooting employees at Capital Gazette.
Speculation: When the newspaper decided not to report the threats, they may have prevented Ramos from getting the help he needed.
Sources:
No comments:
Post a Comment