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Looking at the big picture Not releasing Earnhardt autopsy photos is right decision
Updated: Thursday June 14, 2001 6:06 PM
There are times when a journalist's passion for discovery collides with his sense of decency. It is never easy to know which way to turn at this intersection. On Wednesday in a Daytona Beach, Fla., courtroom, U.S. Circuit Judge Joseph Will refused to release autopsy photos of Dale Earnhardt, agreeing with Earnhardt's widow, Teresa, that making the pictures public would cause immense emotional pain to her family. It was an important victory for the Earnhardt clan, but the case is far from over. Lawyers for the Independent Florida Alligator, the University of Florida's student newspaper, and a DeLand, Fla., Web site will ask for a new hearing and, if that is not granted, will take the case to the 5th District Court of Appeals. The news of this ruling was significant, even in a week when the Los Angeles Lakers are about to close down Allen Iverson's show and Tiger Woods is gunning for a fifth straight major and Barry Bonds is hitting home runs practically every day. But it was not the outcome of the Earnhardt hearing that staggered me this week. It was a piece of testimony by Kristin Bonnett, whose father, Neil, was killed at Daytona in 1994. Autopsy photos of Neil Bonnett were posted on the same Web site that is suing for access to the Earnhardt photos. Bonnett's daughter saw them. "Forty-eight thumbnail photos of my dad on a table, gutted like a deer." She went on to say that ever since seeing the autopsy photos, she couldn't look at a picture of her father without seeing tubes down his throat. It was, to me, a haunting piece of testimony. Since Earnhardt's death on Feb. 18, I have felt that every possible angle should be explored in determining what caused his death, including the disclosure of autopsy photos beyond the agreement between The Orlando Sentinel and the Earnhardt family, which allowed a brief, independent examination of the pictures. It seemed there was more to the story. Perhaps this is just a reporter's natural instinct that there is always more to the story. Was NASCAR covering something up and was Teresa Earnhardt complicit in this cover-up? Many stones needed turning over. Kristin Bonnett's testimony altered everything for me. She imagined her nieces and nephews stumbling across the photos of their grandfather. (Teresa Earnhardt expressed the same concern.) Suppose one takes the most cynical view possible and accuses both women of playing a judge's emotions to protect NASCAR. That still doesn't change the basic truth of their statements, that autopsy photos touch the darkest corners of the human soul and should be seen publicly only under the most extreme circumstances. This, I suppose, is the place where pursuit of information stops and the surrender to good judgment begins. I remain unconvinced that we have learned all there is to learn about Dale Earnhardt's death, about the seat belt that either failed or was cut. I believe the vigorous pursuit of this story should continue. I just think it should be done without public autopsy photos. There has to be another way. Sports Illustrated senior writer Tim Layden will contribute a viewpoint every week on CNNSI.com. To chip in with your two cents, click here.
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