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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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leo52011

over 2 years ago

602 Comments

put a light bulb in his mouth and he would look like uncle lester. In fact out one in his mouth and give him the chair and see if it really lights up.
Silent_Observer

over 2 years ago

446 Comments

If that is the most disturbing thing anybody has seen, it is time to crawl out from under the rock.
Pappy07

over 2 years ago

252 Comments

Some of you folks are there. Try securing the scene of a massive car/truck bombing in Iraq or Afghanistan (or two or three or four..)! To say nothing of day-to-day combat and it's horrors.That will disturb and haunt you quite a bit more than this UGLY MFs mugshot. Tens of thousands of our Countrymen are going through that and willl live with it for the rest of their lives. I ain't looking for sympathy or recognition or ANYTHING-just saying.
nlcrsn

over 2 years ago

228 Comments

And we just keep adding to his moment of fame
Anonymous

over 2 years ago

now hes even more popular.
donmac85

over 2 years ago

86 Comments

Who cares what his stupid face looks like, he just killed a bunch of people! He's just trying to make some creepy bug-eyed smirk face to get more attention and intimidate people. All this hype is probably just what this asshole wants.

Of course he's INSANE! What rational person goes and grabs a gun and shoots a bunch of people? (or lists Mein Kamph and The Communist Manifesto as their fav books.) Just because he's a nut-job doesnt excuse what he did, he still deserves whatever punnishment they can give him.
pfinn_98

over 2 years ago

26 Comments

Many human beings need no supernatural mentoring to commit acts of savagery; some people are devils in their own right, their telltale horns having grown inward to facilitate their disguise....DEAN KOONTZ
BrooklynHillsCop

over 2 years ago

664 Comments

HeadShot,
Right on the money: Expect an "Insanity Defense" argument, backed by a "lack of a suitable jury"... From there, it would be extremely hard to fry this scum bag.
mpd_943

over 2 years ago

2486 Comments

His mug shot does not disturb me. The mother and daughter killed last week in a horrific car crash that I worked...that was disturbing.
HeadShot

over 2 years ago

736 Comments

I bet his attorney will try to convince any court that there is a bias against Loughner because of the extensive worldwide media attention. What juror out there hasn't seen/heard about him since he is plastered everywhere? As far as the mugshot goes, I've seen creepier, stranger people than him. He looks like he's been sleep deprived to the point of insanity, but he does not come across as a deranged psycho killer. Anybody remember Dalhmer's mugshot?? That was a creepy look, because it was so plain.
This guy is, without-a-doubt, a crazed killer, but not the creepiest.
Drill_Sergeant

over 2 years ago

142 Comments

Bump csp1195ret for reading my mind while reading this story. This kid's just begging for a bat to the forehead. If nothing else, what he did to that beautiful 9 year old will make him real popular in the general prison population. Who ever takes care of that little punk should get immediate parol if otherwise qualified.
Anonymous

over 2 years ago

SICK PUP
jamesathome

over 2 years ago

34 Comments

I agree with retleo completely, the general public have no clue as to what is going on out there, i've been involved in all of those he mentioned since 1963 and then some, so when these news people and general public start complaining about the police and how they handle the calls they go out on they have no idea what they are talking about. as for this creep, he is nothing and is taking up good air.
BrooklynHillsCop

over 2 years ago

664 Comments

OK, I'll say it....
"Disturbing" to the point that to look at this scum bag makes one throw out. Not the first time I feel that way while looking at "individuals" -for lack of a better word- like this.
I'm certain it won't be the last.
Retleo

over 2 years ago

5522 Comments

“Jared lee loughner’s mugshot will forever haunt me in my dreams.”
“one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever seen.”
Uh, no, not really. Seen far more disturbing stuff in my career than this Nutjob's mugshot. Just more of the Media/Blog frenzy surrounding this horrible shooting situation. Gotta keep the Media/Blogs fed so that they can justify their existence. People who are "Disturbed" by this mugshot must lead pretty sheltered lives. Try coming out with your local police to a fatal accident scene, a fatal fire scene, a fatal train accident, etc. Then you will see things that will haunt you! JMHO