Was the Washington Post right in publishing Uvalde crime scene photos?
A few weeks ago, The Washington Post published a photo essay called “Terror on Repeat”. Its purpose was to get across to readers just how devastating it is when an AR-15 is used in a mass shooting. The article was mostly made up of quotes from the surviving victims of mass shootings, along with crime scene photos from some pretty infamous ones. These included, but were not limited to, the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas, Sandy Hook, The Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and most importantly, Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
For the most part, the images are largely inoffensive to the average reader but still impactful. For example, there is a picture from a mass shooting at a Texas church where the forensics team has marked the unfathomable amount of bullet holes in the church walls. There is another photo from the Aurora theater showing that shows the seats of the theaters impaled by evidence markers that show the trajectory of the bullets. Seats where many people were sitting when the shooting took place.
One photo that gave me pause was from the Route 91 Harvest festival shooting. That shooting is still the most lethal mass shooting in American history. 60 people died in that shooting after a gunman armed with an AR-15 fired rounds into the concert grounds from a casino hotel window. That photo shows the aftermath of the shooting, where bodies litter the concert grounds. The photo is taken from far enough away where victims can’t be identified, but still shows you the utter devastation wrought by a crazed gunman.
Then there’s Uvalde. The article contains so many pictures of Robb Elementary School that are the worst of them all. There are no pictures of the children who lost their lives on that day per se, however, there are plenty of pictures of the bloody classroom where the majority of the murders took place. Then, at the very end of the piece, there is a picture of a hallway in Robb Elementary School that is lined with body bags.
When I first started blogging about crime, I was vehemently opposed to releasing violent crime scene photos to the public. This was mainly due to the websites from back then that would publish these photos strictly for their shock value. Having said that, I think the Washington Post did a great job in walking the fine line between journalism and tabloid journalism when it comes to the handling of these photos. I wholeheartedly agree with the Post’s piece, and it’s a message more people need to see. If it convinces one person to change their opinion on the availability of AR-15s and the like, then I believe their article was worth it. But then again, I don’t know anyone who was killed in these shootings.
The Washington Post worked with many of the people affected by some of these shootings. They obtained many of the crime scene photos used in the piece through normal channels, such as filing public records requests. Except when it came to Uvalde. According to a motion filed in court, many of the victim’s families from the Robb Elementary School shooting are seeking answers on how the photos made their way from the Texas Department of Public Safety to the Washington Post. Previously, the Texas DPS has not released much information surrounding the shooting to the families, claiming it should be withheld from victims’ families while investigations are still ongoing. That’s in addition to some family members being re-traumatized from the photos being released by the Post.
So the question remains, did the Washington Post do the right thing by showing these photos? In my opinion, yes, they absolutely did the right thing. The only problem with their piece is that the people who tend to read the Washington Post are not the people who need to see this. The people who think the 2nd Amendment is the first commandment do not read the Washington Post, and will not see this impactful piece. The Post is, unfortunately, preaching to the choir.
And I understand that many of the victims’ family members are extremely upset that the blood of their children has been shown in the Post. In no way should their feelings be dismissed. However, if it were one of my children who were killed at Uvalde, I’d like to think I would be shoving these pictures in everyone’s faces to show them how cowardly guns really are, as are the people who glorify them.
(Sources)
