It can’t be said that our police chief, and blogger, here in Lincoln doesn’t have a sense of humor. From the Lincoln Journal Star:
“There was a brutal stabbing last night,” Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady told reporters the next day.
Victim’s last name: Bob.
First name: Sponge.
Yes, he wears square pants.
And he’s yellow.
"Police had no word on the condition of the air-filled Christmas decoration, but they estimated damage caused by the stab wound at $20." The article adds that "luckily, the fallen SpongeBob SquarePants was rescued with some clear duct tape."
Beyond the obvious humor in this story I noticed something more serious and interesting at the end of the article.
Publishing opinions about the guilt, innocence or character of the accused in open criminal cases can affect that person’s constitutional right to a fair trial. For that reason, JournalStar.com has chosen not to accept user comments on this story.
In other words, there are just some stories that the paper isn’t going to let you comment on since those comments might influence a defendants right to a fair trial. Interesting. I’ve not seen this before but the again I don’t read newspaper Web sites with much frequency. Is this common or is this the first time you’ve see this too?
Does that mean they wouldn’t accept a letter to the editor on the subject either? And what about the article itself? The facts selected and the manner in which they’re presented might jeopardize things, too. I wonder why the newspaper believes online comments deserve a muzzle.