Cleveland mayor to officials: Stop leaking information, start respecting kidnapping victims’ privacy [View all]

[DonViejo]

Mayor Frank G. Jackson issued an order to stop the leaks, citing desire to give victims "time and space to heal"

BY KATIE MCDONOUGH

Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson issued a cease and desist order on Thursday to stop city officials from releasing information to the press relating to the Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight kidnapping case.

Jackson called the “outpouring of support” from the media and others “caring in nature,” but said the victims’ privacy was being badly compromised by unauthorized leaks:

This is not for the sake of concealing any information. It is to demonstrate compassion for the victims and their families and to insure the credibility of the investigative process and allow us to arrive at a just conclusion to this difficult situation.

The victims’ families, psychologists and kidnapping survivors like Elizabeth Smart and Jaycee Duggard have all called for the press to leave the three women alone while each begins the process of recovery, but a seemingly insatiable appetite for constant coverage has left them with little privacy. Privacy that they’ll badly need, as Smart told ABC News on Tuesday: “It is so important to respect their privacy, to give them every chance they can to find their own way back, their own path to happiness and well being.”

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http://www.salon.com/2013/05/09/cleveland_mayor_to_officials_stop_leaking_information_start_respecting_kidnapping_victims_privacy/