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Help from high places Governor supports bill to make autopsy photos private
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A bill sought by Dale Earnhardt's widow that would exempt autopsy photographs and videos from Florida's public-records law was filed Wednesday with the support of Gov. Jeb Bush. "The possibility of graphic and sensitive photos being leaked and exploited is a major public policy concern," said state Senate Majority Leader Jim King, who filed the bill. He was flanked at a news conference by co-sponsor Sen. Bill Posey, Bush and two House members who have filed a similar measure. "One may ask where you draw the line on a public-records exemption," King said. "I can tell you that line has got to be drawn beyond photographs as graphic as these." King's bill would make it a third-degree felony for someone to release the records with a maximum sentence of five years in jail and a $5,000 fine. The Orlando Sentinel's request for the autopsy photos of Dale Earnhardt has brought a torrent of angry calls and e-mail from race fans and prompted an effort by lawmakers to prevent the release of such pictures in future cases.
During the past two days, Sentinel Editor Tim Franklin has taken about 3,000 of the almost 7,000 e-mails and calls. "Some of the e-mails have been quite ugly, but I understand it's an emotional issue," Franklin said. "While we feel sorry for the Earnhardt family and what they're going through, there's a big issue here about NASCAR safety and we're simply trying to provide more information about how Dale Earnhardt died." Franklin has said repeatedly that the newspaper has no intention of publishing the photos but wants to view them so that a head trauma expert can make an independent determination of the cause of death. The Sentinel ran a series last month that showed three NASCAR drivers who died last year suffered fractures at the base of the skull. "He's the fourth driver in nine months to die," Franklin said. "This isn't a fight that we seek or asked for, but we believe that there are big issues at stake here as far as NASCAR safety. There's also a big principle at stake, access to state records." Bush said his office has received more than 14,000 e-mails and hundreds of telephone calls from Earnhardt fans in recent days protesting the Sentinel's request to obtain the autopsy photos. "This is timely legislation," said Bush, who talked with Earnhardt's widow, Teresa, on Monday about the bill. "I told her I felt we could craft legislation that protected the traditions of this state in terms of public information when the public interest is at stake, but also be sensitive to the right of privacy as well."
The Senate bill would not affect written autopsy records, King said. Teresa Earnhardt wrote to King on Monday asking that a bill be filed. "I do not believe that any bereaved family should be forced to allow access to photographs of deceased loved-ones, particularly since complete information is available through written autopsy records," she said in her letter. But Barbara Petersen, the executive director of the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee, said the restrictions would be a mistake. "A report can be slanted," Petersen said. "A medical examiner can be under political and public pressure. A photograph cannot be. This is not about Dale Earnhardt, it's about public oversight and creating an exception to the Constitution." King said anyone wanting to see the photos could still do so by getting permission from a judge, but Petersen said that avenue would be arduous and expensive. Earnhardt was killed in a crash Feb. 18 at the Daytona 500. Teresa Earnhardt sued Volusia County four days later to stop release of the medical examiner's photos. The next day, a Sentinel reporter made a public-records request for the pictures. Several news organizations support the Sentinel's efforts to view the photos, the Sentinel said in a statement released Tuesday. The groups include the Society of Professional Journalists, The Associated Press Sports Editors, The Miami Herald, The Tampa Tribune, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and WFLA-TV in Tampa. Franklin has said repeatedly that the newspaper has no intention of publishing the photos but wants to view them so that a head-trauma expert can make an independent determination of the cause of death. The Sentinel reported in a series last month that three NASCAR drivers who died last year suffered fractures at the base of the skull. Sentinel officials were not immediately available Wednesday to comment on the legislation.
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