Opinion: Sometimes the public doesn’t need to know
Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the June 4, 2011, Sacramento Bee.
As a general proposition, we’re all for transparency and making information available to the public.
But some things we just don’t need to know.
El Dorado Superior Court Judge Douglas Phimister was absolutely right to keep under wraps the unspeakable details of Jaycee Lee Dugard’s 18 years of captivity.
On Thursday, he released much of the transcript of the grand jury testimony Dugard gave last September. But the judge appropriately sealed parts that were, in his words, “absolutely disgusting” and “just plain pornographic.”
There’s no compelling reason that such information should be part of the public domain – certainly not enough to outweigh Dugard’s right to privacy.
It’s enough to know that her ordeal, which began when she was snatched off the street at age 11, was truly horrific – and that the life sentences given Thursday to Phillip and Nancy Garrido for kidnapping, raping and holding her hostage are the least punishment they deserve.
Wanting to know all the sordid details would be only prurient curiosity. And, unfortunately, our culture already satisfies that appetite well enough.
The Bee and other media organizations properly went to court seeking the transcript, which is typically unsealed after a case is over.
