When they are accused of crimes, the names of service members are made public — but kept secret when they are acquitted. For the same reason, citizens are named when accused of crimes — it’s a check against government forces being able to secretly prosecute enemies on trumped-up charges. There is a key public accountability element to transparency, one that augers against overcharging and prosecutorial overreach. Certainly, not naming the acquitted softens the sting of prosecutorial failure.
The misguided attempt to protect those proven not guilty in fact not only embraces anti-democratic practices, it is a harmful disservice to the acquitted. Often the charges against them, typically felonies, are reported on the Internet, and that is the only reference to their alleged activities should an employer, lending agency or other party search their names. That could have a devastating effect on their personal lives — an ironic punishment for being cleared of wrongdoing
