The Lexington Herald-Leader adheres to the McClatchy Mugshot Policy, which begins:

Publishing mugshots of arrestees has been shown to have lasting effects on both the people photographed and marginalized communities. The permanence of the internet can mean those arrested but not convicted of a crime have the photograph attached to their names forever. Beyond the personal impact, inappropriate publication of mugshots disproportionately harms people of color and those with mental illness.

Though I disagree with that policy, its basis is clearly and explicitly stated protection of those charged with crimes, but not yet convicted. Why, then, is what my best friend used to call the Herald-Liberal not publishing the mugshots of those convicted of serious crimes?

2 sentenced to prison time over ‘very disturbing’ sexual assault of a Lexington child

Crystal Secrest. Photo by Fayette County Detention Center, via Lexington Herald-Leader, December 8, 2018.

by Jeremy Chisenhall | Monday, November 8, 2021 | 12:04 PM EDT | Updated: 4:04 PM EDT

A Lexington woman and an Indiana man will each spend more than a decade in prison after entering pleas to sex crimes against a child.

Crystal Annette Secrest and Patrick Christopher Noble were both sentenced in Fayette Circuit Court Friday after pleading guilty in the same case; Secrest was accused of repeatedly forcing the victim to perform oral sex on Noble. Judge Thomas L. Travis, who sentenced Secrest to 16 years in prison and Noble to 18 years in prison on Friday, said the case was a “very disturbing situation.”

“I must say this is one of the more disturbing things that I’ve had the occasion to see and read about while I’ve been here on the bench,” Travis said prior to imposing Secrest’s sentence.

There’s more at the original. Miss Secrest is 32 years old, so if she serves the 13 years remaining on her full sentence — she was credited for time served since her arrest in December of 2018 — she won’t get out of prison until she’s 45 years old. I would like to think that she’ll serve the full term, but don’t really have much confidence of that.

Then there’s Patrick Noble. Mr Noble has been locked up since March 12, 2019, so he’s already served 2¾ years, of his 18 year sentence. Since he’s already 56 years old, we can at least hope he won’t be released until he’s 71 years old.

Mr Noble entered an Alford plea, in which he did not admit guilt, but conceded that there was enough evidence against him to be convicted in a jury trial. Nevertheless, Mr Noble maintains his innocence, and his attorney, Shannon Brooks-English, said that he would appeal. Rosa Noble, his wife, said that she supported her husband 100%, and she knew that he did not commit the crimes.

Uh huh, right.

So, why did the Herald-Leader, which wasted bandwidth on a stock illustration, not publish the mugshots of these two malefactors? Surely their offenses were far greater than those of some of the Capitol kerfufflers, people whose crimes were so heinous that they were allowed to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge, the maximum sentence for which is six months, and some of whom have received probation!