Please help spread the word. Highline teacher Darcy Smith acquitted of all charges one year after PI and Times made her look like a child rapist.

I take issue with the wording and tone of your post. Its almost the same thing in reverse as what you're complaining the PI and Times did.

PI and Times write a bunch of articles about a woman charged with a crime as if being charged with a crime means you're guilty of it. Of course our justice system is meant to operate on the assumption that you're innocent until proven guilty, and writing a bunch of news articles implying otherwise is irresponsible journalism.

But the reverse is also true. You're making a post about the woman being acquitted of that crime. That only means she has been proven "Not Guilty". Acquittal does not magically equal "Innocent". It does not mean "See! the paper was demonstrably wrong! Clearly she couldn't possibly have committed this horrible crime because...! Well... not exactly... it just means the prosecutors did not present enough evidence to convict her beyond a reasonable doubt. Nothing more, nothing less. You'd like to think that that USUALLY means the person didn't commit the crime, but I'm sure there's plenty of people who have been acquitted who did indeed commit the crimes they were charged with. There simply wasn't enough evidence to convict them. Lets give her the benefit of the doubt (as we should in all cases) and assume she didn't commit the crime and justice was served. Still doesn't mean we're now required to go declaring her innocent from the highest hills. To do so is just as irresponsible as the papers declaring her guilty for simply for being charged.

I get it that simply having your name attached to a case like this can be ruinous for a person's reputation, and you are trying to help repair the reputation of your friend, family member, coworker, teacher, etc, but that's more an issue for courts and what information is released in the first place. With so much at stake for either party involved, this should be kept as under wraps as possible until there is a verdict. And even then, people should understand what each verdict means. Doesn't give you a pass to hold court in the press/social media again.

/r/Seattle Thread Link - seattlepi.com