____ ____ was a train enthusiast, a beloved son and an autism success story. He was also a registered sex offender, having served nearly two years in federal prison for child pornography crimes.
On Wednesday, the world learned that he among the three men killed in the derailment of the Amtrak Cascades that crashed into Interstate 5 during an inaugural run.
Much was made at SeattlePI and elsewhere of ____ ‘s criminal history in the hours after the 40-year-old’s identity was released. Speaking by phone Wednesday evening, though, ____’s mother described her son as an autistic young man caught in a “witch hunt” after being duped by an unrepentant pedophile. Full Article
Related
The Registry and Autism (Presentation from the 2017 ACSOL Conference)
My question is what does his prior crime have to do with the incident? Whats next, man killed in terrorist attack was a dead beat dad, or cheated his taxes, as if that makes the death ok?
The first two names released where good friends of my husband and we are grieving for the loss. Jim and Zack were great buds and loved trains. They traveled together often on trains and on other trips. Zack leaves a wife of less than 2 years, a truly a tragic event all the way around. My husband is just in tears and beside himself, and feels somewhat guilty for he was invited to go but had to work. I know other of their friends who probably feel similarly, guilty and relieved they also did not take the train that day.
Though I did not know Benjamin Gran, I am equally saddened by his loss of life. As a registered SO myself, not only do I fear others learning about my registration while I am alive, I also fear what shame my family would undergo if I were to die a death that was reported in the news. There was absolutely no reason to even mention about Mr. Gran’s prior conviction, other than to hurt his family. It is so easy to hate people, as if we have this inherent need to put some people down. Where is the Christian love and kindness we profess to believe as a nation? We seem to hate other religions for we do not truly love our own. We should all pray for the three lives lost, equally, as well as all those who are still recovering and grieving.
Three people dead, mangled in steel. Countless others injured, many crippled and maimed for life, and yet the focus is on this man. That fact that he was no threat to anyone, because a dead person cannot be a threat, only proves that publication of the registry is not for public safety. It is for salacious glee and schadenfreude. There is likely a way to study who visits the registry and for what reason and it is likely a small percentage of them visit the registries because of a genuine fear of danger to themselves or their families.
A person’s criminal history DOES NOT belong in the headlines when he or she is a victim of an accident. The only time a criminal history is relevant in a situation like this is if they had a history of violence, for instance, and then committed a violent act that ultimately got him/her killed. This guy did nothing wrong. He was a passenger on a train that crashed.
We are becoming a very dark society in this country, and the media are the ringleaders. God have mercy on us!!!
This is the way to write about the last person identified, not the way NY Post did.
Auburn man, 40, among those killed in Amtrak train derailment
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/auburn-man-40-among-those-killed-in-amtrak-train-derailment/
‘He’d pulled it together’: Mom on son killed in Amtrak crash
http://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenews/article/Amtrak-Crash-Seattle-3rd-Victim-12445593.php#photo-14733541
Sorry to divert from the obvious disgust of the media reporting his rso status and sincere condolences to his family & loved ones but I need to know., He was on probation and was allowed to travel on a train for pleasure? That would never happen in the probation department that supervises the county that i’m in. Anyone else without hope of privileges ever easing even after many years?
Argh, once again I’m left incensed by the sleazy reporting. His twitter headline calls the deceased RC a “child sex abuse promoter,” for Christ’s sake. Please flame this a-hole reporter as much as possible via his twitter link, email and home number at the bottom of the article. Intelligently get under his skin so that his anger carries through to 2018 and ruins his holiday.
The real question should be what in G-d’s name does the guy “(sex offender)” among that perished, have to do with the tragedy of the train derailment?
Once a sex offender always a sex offender — even beyond death?
https://narsol.org/2017/12/once-a-sex-offender-always-a-sex-offender-even-beyond-death/
This is well worth the reading over at NARSOL about this young Autistic man’s story and the media in the American society.