GUEST COMMENTARYTHE SLAMMER: DOESN’T DESERVE THE PRICE OF PAPER IT’S PRINTED ON

BByy PPaannddeemmoonniiuumm aakkaa GGaabbrriieell

Isaac Carnetti, a.k.a.Dash Dangerfield, is thelatest in a long line ofleeches to suck theblood of the poor. Oncea petty criminal, incar-cerated for a year afterbeing convicted of lar-ceny, marijuana posses-sion, and breaking andentering, Carnetti nowprofits from publishingmug shots of mainlypoor Floridians, North

Carolinians, and Ohioans in The Slammer.

Thumbing through back issues of Carnetti’spublication, The Slammer, it iseasy to understand why its cir-culation is high. Nosy peoplewith small minds are oftenintrigued by the misfortune ofothers. The corny captions,unfunny cartoons and shoddyeditorials disguise the factthat Mr. Carnetti is a collegegraduate and the son of well-to-do parents. His failure to beaccepted to law school after his incarcera-tion did not derail his crime fighting aspira-tions. According to an interview with TheChristian Science Monitor, Carnetti’s legalexpertise was developed by sitting in thecourthouse where his mother worked andgoing home to watch “Law and Order,” “PerryMason” and “Matlock.” Add a little JerrySpringer and The Slammer is the final product.

According to the mission statement printedinside the cover of each issue, The Slammer’spurpose is to “inform the public of suspectedcriminal activity in the community; to assistlaw enforcement in deterring crime and solvingcases; to foster public involvement in mattersof public safety and awareness; and to satisfythe natural curiosity of its readers.” The latterseems to be the true intent of the magazine.

Although the mission statement includes thecaveat; “not every arrest leads to a conviction.All suspects are innocent until proven guilty ina court of law,” the de facto result, in the mindof the reader, is that these people are guilty.Reading quotes from The Slammer readers inthe Christian Science Monitor article seems toreinforce that conclusion. For example, Omar

Pandemonium aka Gabrielhe’s driving around in the car with you, and youdon’t know this stuff.” Does it sound like thehypothetical best friend is innocent, or guilty?

These are not celebrities, athletes or politi-cians. They are not public personalities of

means. The majority of the people fea-tured in The Slammer are poor,black or Latino. They lack thefunds for proper legal representa-tion and usually have to rely on anoverly burdened public defendersystem. The deck is alreadystacked against them.

What happens if a person whosemug shot is printed is found not

guilty, or has all charges droppedagainst him? Does Mr. Carnetti print a retrac-tion, correction, or a story about the wrongfulcharges? No. Is he worried that printing thesemug shots could eventually taint a jury? No.Furthermore, many of the people featuredseem to have drug and alcohol problems.These people need serious rehabilitative help,not ridicule. Their lives are already hell.

None of the people who are featured in TheSlammer get to tell their side of the story. Noneof them have the opportunity to rebut thecharges against them. Carnetti is not interest-ed in journalism, he is a coward.

If The Slammer merely printed mug shots ofwanted suspects, convicted criminals and sexoffenders, along with the poor restaurant rat-ings, it would fulfill its initial stated purposesand might be worth the dollar price printed onits cover. Since its true purpose is to humiliatethe defenseless, it doesn’t deserve the price ofthe paper on which it’s printed. Born and raised in Iowa, Pandemonium aka Gabriel moved to NC upon graduation fromIowa State University to attend NCCU School of Law. He has been a musician since theage of 6 and a poet since the age of 11. Pandemonium follows up successful independ-

“...The Slammer, it iseasy to understandwhy its circulation ishigh. Nosy people withsmall minds are oftenintrigued by the misfor-

Sept./Oct. 2009 SPECTACULAR 9www.spectacularmag.com