Lawmaker Wants to End Censor Bars in Photos of Criminal Suspects

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat

Two suspects with censor bars and no surnames.

A National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party lawmaker has called to end the use of censor bars in photos of criminal suspects, a practice intended to obscure their faces under the idea that it provides presumption of innocence.

Another measure designed to protect suspects is the use of the letter "N" in place of the suspect's surname.

Guerrero deputy Coyolxauhqui Soria Morales proposed an amendment to the criminal procedure code prohibiting photos of suspects from being distorted before they are released to the media.

Although Mexican law does not explicitly require the media to use censor bars, but oftentimes the media receives these pictures with the censor bars already in place.

Morales argues that anonymizing suspects is tantamount to putting their rights above those of the victims.

“Higher priority has been given to the alleged perpetrator, putting the victim second … negating the legal equality of both parties and overprotecting the accused …” she said. Morales added that obscuring the identity of the accused is a barrier to securing a prosecution. “… the face of the detained defendants must be revealed to provide legal certainty and viability, in order to carry out physical identification by the victims,” she said.

The deputy asserted that the principal of presumption of innocence does not afford suspects anonymity.

“The presumption of innocence is not affected by the fact that their faces are covered or distorted, or that a bar is placed on their eyes. Their integrity is not protected by that measure, but with respect for their human rights as criminal suspects,” she said.

The proposed modification to Article 113 of the National Code of Criminal Procedures reads:

“When the alleged perpetrators are arrested, at the point they are presented to the media, it is forbidden to cover the face or distort the image or put a bar over the eyes of the accused, with the exception of minors.”

Borderland Beat Analysis

Prior to the full adoption of Mexico's New Criminal Justice System (Nuevo Sistema de Justicia Penal, NJSP) in 2016, blurring suspects' faces in mug shots and protecting their names was not practiced by both authorities and the media.

But the NJSP intended to provide greater protection to the accused and help preserve presumption of innocence. Critics say that this measure little to no effect in preserving presumption of innocence, and that it only benefits criminals who are likely to re-offend.

If a suspect is found guilty and convicted, one can file a petition to the Mexican government to release the suspect's full name and uncensored picture.

Blurring suspects' faces is not generally practiced when a suspect has a bounty.

Sources: Infobae; MND; Borderland Beat Analysis