OPINION:
Shannan Watts was a smart, ambitious mother of two little girls, Bella and Celeste, and was 15 weeks pregnant with a son, whom she planned to name Nico, when she was strangled to death by her husband on Aug. 13, 2018 in Frederick, Colorado. Chris Watts also smothered his daughters and dumped their bodies in oil tanks at an oil field, and placed his wife’s body in a shallow makeshift grave nearby. Not long after the murders, Chris Watts confessed and accepted a plea deal, which resulted in the life sentence he is currently serving in Wisconsin.
With the anniversary of the murders fast approaching, the sad reality is that Shannan Watts’ parents and brother have not been allowed to properly grieve — because they have been subjected to extensive and unrelenting daily online harassment and abuse. Through social-media venues including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and online discussion groups, people have spread libelous claims about Shannan Watts and have bullied her family. Some opportunists have even used the murders to make a profit.
Those engaging in such behavior need to be held accountable for their irresponsible, degrading and, in some instances, criminal behavior. Though the family has made concerted efforts to reach out to the various social-media sites to enlist their help in having the culprits held accountable, they have received no response or resolution.
Congress must develop and approving federal legislation to hold social-media sites and the individuals involved in such abuse accountable for the abuse they inflict.
KAREN L. BUNE
Adjunct professor, victimology
Marymount University
Arlington, Va.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.