In the summer of 2012, a gunman opened fire in an Aurora, Colorado movie theater during the midnight premiere of “The Dark Night Rises.” He killed 12 people and wounded 70.
James Holmes was formally sentenced to life in prison plus 3,318 years by a judge on August 27. He was given life sentences for all 12 people, with no chance of parole.
During the trial the prosecutors and family members debated if they should release pictures from the crime scene to the public.
According to 7 News Denver, “Prosecutors wrote in a Thursday court filing that relatives of the 12 people killed in the 2012 attack want the photos to be shown only to jurors, not to people seated in the courtroom or watching a live video feed.”
Are crime scene photos ever beneficial to the public to see? Do we really need to see the brutality of mass shootings on the Internet? In some cases, it may even glamorize the shooter.
“News images shape our culture in ways both profound and deep,” said Daniel R. Bersak, from his media study, "Ethics in Photojournalism: Past, Present, and Future." “Those who lived through the Vietnam era cannot help to remember the searing photographs that have come to symbolize that conflict … some would say the mounting weight of photographic evidence was the primary cause for public opinion against the war.”
After Holmes was sentenced, photos of the inside of the movie theater and the inside of his apartment were ultimately released to the public.
Among these images are his actual rifle used in the shooting, bloody auditorium floors and images of bullet-ridden theater seats. Among many other pictures painting the scene of what happened that day.
When is it okay to show the public crime-scene evidence? What good is it to show pictures of bloody floors and bullet-ridden seats? Truthfully it probably brings up painful memories for the victims’ families and friends.
Many times politics may play a role in the release of crime scene evidence. Politicians and those who agree with certain policies may push for certain crime scene evidence to be released to push their cause, in this case, gun violence. Viewers may look at the crime scene evidence and be persuaded one way or another with anti-gun or pro-gun laws.
Personal backgrounds may also influence what media certain audiences consume and how it will affect them. Some people may not even open the link to view the evidence, and some may just because they are curious.
In the case of shootings, how is the over-saturating of violent images in the media going to affect children or even adults who may be inclined to do the same? The media can teach us new behaviors, and in some cases, can motivate us to enact them. Whether this is to petition for tighter gun laws or to carry out a violent act.
