Once a criminal completes the requirements agreed upon in order to clear their name they will have a clean record in regards to the law. However google begs to differ. Mr Birnbaum a College student at the University of Alabama was charged with possession but after completing the necessary rehabilitation program he was cleared of all charges. When he sought a job the employer did a standard check my googling his name. What he found was his mugshot brought to you by Mugshots.com and JustMugshots.com. The purpose of these websites is to inform the public of the history of potentially dangerous people. What makes these websites illegitimate is that they charge up to $400.00 in order to remove the picture on their website.

Although these websites are taking advantage of individuals that may have never even been found guilty there is an overlying purpose to these websites. People have the right to know of the serious crimes committed by people they are in regular contact with. These people can be neighbours, employees or someone your dating. The website has a case by case policy where they will determine whether the mugshot can be taken down depending upon the seriousness of the crime. I don’t think that the photos should be taken down just to make it fair across the board. The public are entitled to these photos. It is unfortunate that a person may have to suffer the consequences for a minor wrong doing but this does not outweigh the benefits of having access to the photos.