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Loughner Mugshot Is "Most Disturbing Thing I've Ever Seen"

88 Comments

In this handout provided by the Pima County Sheriff's Forensic Unit, Jared Lee Loughner poses for a photo.

Editor Note: The following is an Opinion article meant to foster discussion. The statement is not an endorsement nor reflects the views and opinions of PoliceLink.com or our parent company Monster Worldwide.

A mugshot just released of Jared Lee Loughner, the 22-year-old man accused of the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the killing of six others in Tucson, has become a focal point for the strong reactions felt across the United States and even global community after the weekend violence.

The mugshot, which shows Loughner staring straight into the camera with an unsettling smirk on his face, has been splashed across the front pages of American and international newspaper websites. As this is being written, it appears as the lead photograph on the NYTimes.com and LATimes.com slideshows and on the front page of WashingtonPost.com, BBC News, Yahoo News, The Huffington Post, The Times of London, The Daily Telegraph and other top news sites.

Loughner appeared in a federal courtroom in Phoenix Monday with his lawyer Judy Clarke. The college dropout faces two federal murder charges and three attempted murder charges. Magistrate Judge Lawrence Anderson called Loughner a “danger to the community” and ordered him held without bond. Rep. Giffords remains hospitalized in critical condition after being shot in the head.

In the photograph, released by the Pima County Sheriff’s Forensic Unit, light shines off Loughner’s bald head. He has freckles and what looks like the tracings of a black eye. What makes the image striking is not the face itself, but the look the young man conveys. He grabs the viewer with his eyes, looking straight ahead and not backing down or showing any sign of shame or remorse. Viewing the image — and knowing what the subject is accused of doing — leaves many viewers wondering if the man is mentally ill.

On the social networking site Twitter, the mugshot has been discussed at length with people calling it “creepy” and “eery” and others pleading with the media to stop showing the photograph.

One person wrote: “Have yall seen this Jared loughner mugshot??? My god… Keith olbermann, please stop showing that joint. I am all types of creeped out.”

Another wrote, “Jared lee loughner’s mugshot will forever haunt me in my dreams.”

Another called it “one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever seen.”

What are your thoughts on the image? Why do you think it causes such strong reactions? Should the media limit their use of the image?

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Anonymous

over 2 years ago

I wish the media wouldn't even bother to post his mugshot. Why give that sinister grin any press. Save all the press for the victims and their families.
CaptainOrso

over 2 years ago

32 Comments

Most LEO's HAVE MET MUTTS LIKE THIS...You look into their eyes, and there is NO SOUL behind them...nada, nothing, "ang big walah"...I believe--and I haven't heard it spoken about in our "free" media, that the Satanic alter he had in his backyard tent explains far more than all of the other "alleged" "mental" conditions" that he supposedly has. There is a big difference between mentally sick and evil, and IMNSHO this future flower fertilizer is the latter.
101

over 2 years ago

42 Comments

I don't believe in the insanity plea absolving you of a crime. Mental institutions are just jails for the insane. I don't have a problem with giving the death penalty to the insane. If you do the crime be prepared to deal with the consequences. Being crazy should not give you any immunity. Its not like these people can be rehabed. Give 'em life , knock 'em off, etc. These nuts' victims' families don't feel any better because the perps a whack job. The nuts that I have observed over the years have always been nuts. Starting at Pre-K age you can tell something is wrong. A lot of these parents won't admit it to themselves that their "baby" is "special" and therefore won't voluntarily have them tested. Once forced they will do it but won't keep up with the meds because they "don't believe in that". I think we need more testing in schools to catch these kids early and try to help them before its too late. If these kids are diagosed with something and meds are prescribed. Then the parents should be forced, by law if necessary, to make sure they are taken. I know this isn't a perfect solution but its better than gun laws. These politicians are missing the point altogether. Laws don't apply to CRAZY people. Nothing does.
BPD425

over 2 years ago

62 Comments

People are creeped out or frightened by this person. Well it’s no surprise for any LEO. It is unfortunate this happened but like 911 exposed true terrorism to the typical citizen now this maniac has exposed mental instability and its possible danger to the typical citizen.
B.O. has a real solution to a huge problem, no firearms 1000 feet from a Gov official. Does that mean Police and Bodyguards included? Another B.O. liberal, anti-gun solution to a much bigger problem.
Why not look into other solutions?
As an LEO, I too am finding more and more supposedly mentally unstable people. Funny thing is that the supposedly unstable person has the mental capacity to commit whatever crime they committed or are accused of. Yet, once confronted the supposedly unstable person then uses their instability as an excuse for whatever crime committed or accused of.
Why not pour more money into social programs it's been working so far. (Sarcasm).
101

over 2 years ago

42 Comments

He's going straight to solitary/iso. I don't see him lasting too long in gen pop.
cgarvey421

over 2 years ago

102 Comments

MY guess is that smile will be gone off his face when he spends time in jail and keeps having all these "accidents", you know when he accidentally trips and falls down the stairs etc....
101

over 2 years ago

42 Comments

Kind of reminds me of Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker. You can look at this guy and see he's nuts. He did not just all of a sudden become nuts. He's been nuts. Yet another nut who has fallen thru the "cracks" and killed someone. Unfortunately for us there are plenty more where he came from. In LE we run across these mentally & emotionally disturbed individuals all the time. I am now running across more disturbed youths and I don't just mean teenagers. I am talking SERIOUSLY DISTURBED Pre-K on up. I don't know what's causing it but its very alarming & disturbing. The future is not bright. These kids are future front page news.
TrafficCop28

over 2 years ago

1424 Comments

Watching the national news right now, they are proposing a new law banning firearms from 1000 feet of a federal official. Does anyone believe this jackwagon would have been detered. There wasn't anyone around to enforce it, if it had been in effect anyway! This guy worships satan, not the law. Gesh!
Migs

over 2 years ago

1278 Comments

Plain evil. Where is the firing squad when you need one!
AHP3611

over 2 years ago

316 Comments

He was just lucky the Citizen's didn't kick the crap out of him more, instead of just pinning him down pushing his face into the ground !!!!
bobska

over 2 years ago

660 Comments

What a POS!! He's freaking Evil and needs to be shot in the head, and rot in hell!!!
Irishcop1961

over 2 years ago

36888 Comments

Bump TheRealist
DALLASCRANE

over 2 years ago

19386 Comments

Smirk, mock us, hate us !!!! It's your freedom living in this country. There is a consequence for your actions in this life and beyond. There will come a day in your life when night will never come again. Your misery will be the Darkest torment and anguish, a thousand times your pain on earth. Mr. Needle will come for you and death will be the easiest part of your journey.
LEOSTUDENT

over 2 years ago

8 Comments

I don't care about Loughner's family at all. I care about the victim's families and have a tremendous amount of sympathy for them, not Loughner's. They raised the monster, and people like Loughner give off warning signs. His parents should have got him some help in the way of a straight jacket and maybe some Thorazine and a padded room way before this ever happened.
servingproud

over 2 years ago

4684 Comments

May this POS rot in Hell....... I'll hook him up and pull the lever with a smile.