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The Usual Suspects?
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 Somewhere along the line the meaning of the word “suspect” was lost. Like so many words during this era of Political Correctness, it has morphed into something almost unrecognizable in a great many cases. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary the definition of the word is as follows:
Suspect ~ noun: one that is suspected; especially : a person suspected of a crime / adjective 1 : regarded or deserving to be regarded with suspicion : SUSPECTED 2 : DOUBTFUL, QUESTIONABLE / transitive verb 1 : to imagine (one) to be guilty or culpable on slight evidence or without proof 2 : to have doubts of : DISTRUST 3 : to imagine to exist or be true, likely, or probable / intransitive verb] - to imagine something to be.
Now, hold that thought while you read this:
“A Tyler man embroiled in a bitter child support dispute opened fire Thursday on his ex-wife and son with a high-powered rifle, killing the woman and a bystander who attempted to intervene.
Several people, including three lawmen, were wounded in the exchange, which began about 1:25 p.m. outside the Smith County Courthouse.
Police ultimately shot and killed David Hernandez Arroyo Sr. after he fired repeatedly at officers during a two-mile chase that ended off U.S. Highway 271.
The 43-year-old suspect, who was wearing multiple layers of body armor, died in a hail of police gunfire after authorities rammed his pickup and he emerged, gun raised and firing.” [tylerpaper.com]
Ahem, hello? Just what was Mr. Arroyo “suspected” of? Unless the folks in Tyler suspected that he was a member of a cross-dressing murder cult or something, I’d say there are few suspicious factors in this case. But that is what suspect(s) are these days; the ‘presumed innocent’ ride the same linguistic bus as the ‘known to be guilty’.
I am not sure where it all started, but this case is by no means unique these days. Perhaps this oddity is the result of the lingo of sensitivity-trained cops creeping into the media lexicon? I don’t know. However, I do know when this phenomenon caught my notice in a glaring way. It was when I turned on the TV and saw news footage showing a guy shooting some lawyer. Apparently, the TV film crew happened to be there when this disgruntled citizen decided to shoot an attorney he had a problem with (everyone’s dream). He didn’t just shoot him once, but chased him about until the scene consisted of the assailant shooting his victim around the trunk of a tree. I watched in awe as the shooter walked briskly past the cameras until he was tackled by a good samaritan and was held until police arrived to take the “suspect” into custody. Yes, I also watched and listened with awe as the leading man in this murderous movie was referred to as "the suspect" in virtually every piece of media coverage. SUSPECT? What the hell?
Look, the ‘presumption of innocence’ thing is all good, but where does common sense enter in? Only if there is any reasonable doubt of guilt should an individual be afforded the title of suspect. If you commit a crime, live, on camera, in front of dozens of live witnesses and/or on national TV, then I think that a word other than suspect is in order. In such cases I would like to suggest those old standby’s like “killer”, “assailant”, “mugger”, etc.
Now, maybe I sound old-fashioned or even draconian to the tender minds of this sorry time, but if it makes you feel any better, I am not necessarily the one who wrote this. I am just a suspect.
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