You Are a Legislator Whose Pet Issue Is Freedom of Information

question 46

Essay

You are a legislator whose pet issue is freedom of information. However, you also understand that it might be unfair in the age of information to make it easy to discover the worst moment of any citizen's life, a moment that might define them forever. Are there certain convictions that should never be sealed or expunged? Should an offender always be identifiable by the worst thing he or she did? Why or why not?

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Definitions:

Thought Insertion

A symptom of certain psychiatric disorders where individuals believe that thoughts are being placed into their minds by external forces.

Concrete Thinking

A mode of thinking that is focused on the physical and the literal, without the ability to consider abstract concepts or hypothetical situations.

Medication Nonadherence

The behavior of not taking prescribed medications as directed, which can include skipping doses, not refilling prescriptions, or stopping medication without a doctor's consent.

Chronic Deterioration

A gradual decline in physical or mental health over an extended period.