Foiling pedophiles, Forgetting the prisoner

A youth sports league in Indiana has banned its teams from printing players’ first names on their jerseys to foil pedophiles.

A youth sports league in Indiana has banned its teams from printing players’ first names on their jerseys to foil pedophiles. Mike McGinley, president of a league for 12,000 children, said parents were concerned that sexual predators might approach players with a friendly, “Hi, Mary” or “Hi, Jimmy.” Under the new rule, parents can even have their child’s last name left off their jersey, as a defense against those rare predators who might be tempted to approach a child with a friendly, “Hi, Mr. Peterson.”

A Missouri man has spent two years in jail, confined to his cell for 23 hours a day, because the legal system forgot he was there. Court documents show that Joseph Shepard, 53, could have been released on bail in 2006 to await trial on drug and gun charges, but his lawyer never filed the proper paperwork, and prosecutors moved on to other cases. This week a new bail hearing was scheduled, and Shepard reacted to the good news by saying, “That’s what I’ve been hoping for. Something like that.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us