Mugs have been public record for years but the bill argues whether that's fair to those arrested.

ATLANTA — A bill in the legislature would prevent county jails from releasing the mug shots of newly arrested detainees. But the bill is getting some pushback.  

Mugs have been considered public records for decades in Georgia. But the question this bill raises is whether that’s really fair to those newly arrested.

"Yes,  it’ll be public record," said a man ruefully moments after he walked out of the Fulton County jail Monday.

The 55-year-old was arrested overnight but left after he said the charges against him had been dropped. He declined to give his name or allow us to photograph him.

He said he would support a bill to prevent the immediate release of his mug shot.

"I would prefer for that not to be the case," he said. "Because it’s cruel and unfair to people."

State Rep. Roger Bruce (D-Atlanta) is behind a bill that would keep mug shots under wraps until a jail detainee is convicted of a crime. "Just because you’ve been arrested does not mean you’ve committed a crime. You’ve been accused of a crime," Bruce told 11Alive News. 

Mug shots are routinely used in news coverage. They splash onto the internet and frequently stay there indefinitely.  "If you’ve been exonerated, you should not have your mug shot out on the internet," Bruce said.

11Alive News changed its policy in recent years to use mug shots only 

• In cases the station is likely to cover up to the trial stage
• If the suspect is at large and poses a public safety threat

But the release of photos of those accused is part of a free society, argued Richard T. Griffiths of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation.

"We are able to tell from the booking photo who the person is who’s been taken into custody. That person is effectively protected from abuse by the public knowing that he’s been taken into custody. He hasn’t disappeared" as happens in totalitarian regimes, Griffiths said. 

Griffiths also claimed Bruce’s bill would prevent sheriff's departments from circulating mug shots of people who have escaped from custody.