Headlines Matter: How we can push media to improve how they speak about previously incarcerated people

I felt infuriated but, unfortunately, not surprised when I saw a recent Facebook post by my friend and fellow advocate Shannon Ross about a dehumanizing headline a Milwaukee news outlet used to describe a formerly incarcerated person. The article was about Adam Procell’s new role leading Milwaukee’s Office of Community Wellness and Safety, and the original headline read: “Convicted killer to lead Milwaukee’s violence prevention office: ‘This isn’t a job, it’s a penance.”

Those first two words of the headline felt like a gut punch. Not just to Adam, but to every person who has done the hard, painful work of accountability, healing, growing, and returning to serve their community. 

Headlines matter. They shape public opinion faster than the article itself ever could. When the first thing people see is “convicted killer,” it erases Adam’s transformation  journey, his leadership, and the very reason he was chosen for this role. It sends a message to every formerly incarcerated person that: Hey, no matter how far you come, you will always be reduced to your worst moment.

To be clear, the fact that Adam is associated with someone no longer being here is not irrelevant. It is part of his story–one he integrates into his mission of helping others in Milwaukee and beyond. His experience lends him a level of credibility and insight that no college classroom or formal mandated training could. But there’s a big difference between acknowledging someone’s past and reducing them to it. The headline, as originally written, defined him by his previous action, not who he is today. 

Thankfully, after public pushback, the outlet revised the headline to a more human-centered one: “From Prison to Purpose: New violence prevention leader carries personal mission from tragic past.” 

But the damage of the first version was already done. And it was not an isolated incident. These headlines appear every week, across platforms and publications. They are written by people who’ve likely never spent time with those they’re writing about. People who prioritize clicks over integrity. 

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a media headline overshadow the accomplishments of a formerly incarcerated individual by foregrounding their past instead of their present. Back in June 2025, Joshua J. Smith, a Tennessee businessmen, advocate, and formerly incarcerated person who received a presidential pardon, was appointed Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. 

For the first time in history, a person with lived experience in the federal system was stepping into a chief leadership position in that very system. Yet, media headlines were uneven. Forbes led with “Meet Joshua Smith, New Deputy Director of Bureau of Prisons,” completely omitting his incarceration from the headline (their use of the terms “inmate”, “ex-offender”, etc. in the article is a completely different story, my goodness!). The Marshall Project opted for a more balanced framing: “He Spent Years in Federal Prisons. Now He’s Helping to Lead Them.” Others fell into the trap of sensationalism. Corrections and NBC News emphasized his former status and even highlighted the pardon being controversial (same way they did with Adam’s appointment), suggesting a scandal instead of focusing on success or progress. 

Despite Smith’s conviction stemming from drug-related charges, none of the headlines refer to him as a former “drug-dealer”– a label that would have been just as dehumanizing and reductive as using the headline “convicted killer” as the defining feature of Adam’s story.  

Dehumanizing language causes real harm in the world. It’s used to justify discrimination and prejudice; to lock us out of careers, housing, and education.

But when we are identified as we are – multi-dimentional people with rich and complex lives, deserving of dignity and respect – we have more access to opportunities and can more fully engage in our communities. 

To my advocates and activists: You have power. When you see headlines like these, don’t just scroll past them. Write to the editor. Leave a comment. Use your platform to call out the harm and to call for the media to do better. We can shape the standards of reporting by collectively holding media outlets accountable. 

To members of the media: Do better. You have a responsibility to reflect people’s full humanity without sensationalizing their past. It’s time for the media to stop normalizing dehumanization and to take accountability for the impact of their words. Media outlets hold power to shape public perception through the language they choose in their headlines – they should use that power responsibly. 

We know it’s possible for the media to change for the better. Last year, I wrote about the Associated Press finally updating its criminal justice guidelines to use person-first language instead of referring to someone solely by their current or former status in the carceral system. 

We can only build safety and justice by humanizing everyone in our society. It’s time to drop the labels, and drop the outdated narratives that block the path of progress for people who are working every day to improve our lives and serve our communities. 

#dropthelabels