Summary: City police in East Liverpool, Ohio released graphic pictures on Facebook of two people passed out in the front seat of a car with a child in the back. The photos were taken at a traffic stop on Wednesday. The driver was James Acord and the passenger was Rhonda Pasek, the child in the back was Pasek's son. When they were pulled over, Acord claimed to be going to the hospital because Pasek had passed out, but almost immediately after saying this, he passed out himself. The police called emergency medical help who were able to save Pasek's life by giving her a heroin reversal drug called Narcan. Acord was sentenced to 360 days in jail, had his license suspended, and was fined $450. Pasek is pleading not guilty, and her bail is currently $150,000. The city says they released the photos to show the effects of heroin, especially when children are around. They want to give the child and other children in similar situations a voice and to help stop heroin use, particularly around children.
Analysis: While many people believe the pictures should not have been put online, I think it was the right thing to do. They prefaced the Facebook post with a graphic warning, and its a valuable and powerful message to get across. A lot of people assume something is fine if nothing bad happens to them when they do it, hopefully seeing a situation like this will open people's eyes and show them that this is wrong. This event could be connected to the New England colonies punished people who committed adultery by making them wear the letter "A" cut out of fabric on all their clothes because its labeling and bringing awareness to a crime that could otherwise go unnoticed for the most part.
Article: http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/09/health/heroin-effects-police-photo-trnd/index.html
A single picture can have a greater impact than countless articles attempting to convey the same message. I think the release of this picture is a great thing, as the imagery will resonate with countless, warning them of the dangers of heroin and hopefully lessen the growing heroin culture in our country.
ReplyDeleteI think the pictures would have a very great influence on appeal to fear. Most people are hard to get across and only respond to visual proof. As they may be graphic and hard to look at, people need to be exposed to the extreme dangers of heroin and I think seeing the cold truth in a picture has more effect than an article.
ReplyDelete-Alix Burns