Posted on 12/24/2005 1:18:49 PM PST by JustAnotherOkie
Family of slain soldier loses lawsuit over publication of open-casket photo
The family of a slain soldier had sued Harper's magazine.
TULSA - A family's privacy was not invaded when photos taken at the open-casket funeral of an Oklahoma soldier killed in Iraq were published in Harper's magazine, a federal judge ruled Friday.
Sgt. Kyle Adam Brinlee was the first combat-related death for the Oklahoma National Guard since the Korean War and his funeral attracted about 1,200 people, including Gov. Brad Henry.
The media were invited to attend and take photos at his funeral, held in the Pryor High School Auditorium. Internationally acclaimed photojournalist Peter Turnley photographed the sergeant's uniformed body as it lay in the open casket.
The photo appeared in August 2004 as part of a photo essay in Harper's magazine titled "The Bereaved: Mourning the Dead, in America and Iraq."
Brinlee's father, Robert Showler of Wagoner, and his maternal grandfather, Johnny Davidson of Pryor, claimed the photo caused intentional infliction of emotional distress and was taken without permission at a private funeral.
The photo, they claimed, was "so extreme and outrageous as to go beyond all bounds of decency." They alleged invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and unjust enrichment and sought unspecified punitive damages and more than $75,000 in actual damages each on four of the seven complaints.
"The casket was open for friends and family -- not to gawk at and take pictures and publish them. Not for economic gain," the pair's lawyer, Douglas Stall, told The Associated Press last week.
U.S. District Judge Frank Seay of the Eastern District of Muskogee ruled otherwise.
"In fact, plaintiffs appear to have put the death of their loved one in the public eye intentionally to draw attention to his death and burial. That would be the only reason for inviting the press to attend the funeral," wrote Seay in his decision to grant summary judgment.
Seay also ruled that Brinlee's death was newsworthy and therefore protected under the First Amendment. Turnley's photo depicted Brinlee's death accurately and respectfully, according to the ruling.
Harper's magazine publisher John R. MacArthur called the ruling a victory.
"For me, from the beginning, it was a First Amendment issue and it was also a matter of our integrity," MacArthur said. "I have not met anyone who thought that photograph was disrespectful in any way.
"Standing on principle is expensive but you've got to do it. Because if you don't, you might as well go out of business."
Davidson declined to comment on the ruling Friday.
A lesson for all. If you don't want the vultures around make sure you don't unintentionally invite them.
Never trust the press.
Why needlessly hurt a grieving family? This sucks!
Someone is going to have to deal with trash like Harpers someday.
It is hard to keep a straight face whenever a member of the press talks about his integrity.
"For me, from the beginning, it was a First Amendment issue and it was also a matter of our integrity," MacArthur said. "I have not met anyone who thought that photograph was disrespectful in any way.
YOU HAVE NOT MET ME YOU SLIME!
"Standing on principle is expensive but you've got to do it. Because if you don't, you might as well go out of business."
PRINCIPLE? Sir you have no principle.
They invited the media to the funeral and they actually thought the media would honor boundaries of decency? These people are either incredibly naïve or they have been asleep for the past 40 years.
Don't insult vultures. Like Maggots they actually clean things up. Thr press just creates a mess.
Yeah, but the family invited the media to turn the funeral into a media circus. They did not stipulate final editorial control over the coverage.
The part that really sucks is that this family turned their son's death into political football for the Leftists by allowing the Leftist media free reign.
Expecting the a bunch of liberal media goons to have any sense of fairness or decency toward a fallen soldier's family is like expecting two wolves to honor a sheep's wishes.
A lesson to all Americans. If you see the media anywhere NEAR you make sure they realize they are not welcome. Put up signs that say "Media Stay Out" and "No Pictures for Media Types". Sooner or later they may get it through their thick heads that they are not wanted.
Probably just naive but not anymore.
It seems that some people have never heard of the story of the Scorpion and the Toad..
Yeah...but you know, I have a serious problem with any supposed "right to know" when it comes to open casket photos of dead servicemen or anyone else for that matter. The "public" doesn't have a right to gawp at someone's deceased loved one in a magazine.
this guy fresh from his paparazzi job at the 'enquirer'?
The media was invited
If you don't want pictures of your deceased loved ones, I would suggest not inviting cameramen. When you actually invite the people with cameras, I lose sympathy for you.
Bingo. Perfect allegory of this story.
Calling the media "vultures" is misguided. They're more closely related to the parasitic pus-gut botfly.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.