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Situation Defined- Description of Facts

On May 11th, 2004, an IED exploded, struck a vehicle in Iraq and killed Army Specialist
Kyle Adam Brinlee, a 21 year old from Oklahoma. At his funeral in Oklahoma, Brinlees parents
opted for an open casket and allowed the press to be there as long as they stayed in the
designated media area. A photographer, Peter Turnley who works for Harpers Magazine,
attended the funeral and took a picture of Brinlee in his casket and then published it in an essay
that discussed the funerals in America versus the funerals in Iraq. His essay showed pictures of
dead soldiers and citizens in Iraq and then showed Brinlee in his casket at his funeral in his
hometown. The family of Brinlee became upset and sued Turnley, but ended up losing the case
based on the grounds that there was no invasion of privacy by the press and the possibility that
his parents placed the casket close to the media area hoping for the attention.
Situation Defined- Identification of Values and Statement of Ethical Questions
The values presented in this case are privacy and respect. The ethical question that needs
to be answered is whether or not it was ethical for the photographer to take the picture and then
publish it in the magazine.
Analysis of the Situation- Acceptable Ethical Theories
The philosophical theory that I will be analyzing for this case study is Mills
utilitarianism. In this theory, one of the objectives is to focus on doing the greatest good for the
greatest number of people. When looking at this case, we see that the result of the photographer
publishing the picture from the funeral resulted in a huge controversy and upset a lot of people,
primarily the family of the deceased because they felt that their privacy was invaded. When the

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family tried to sue the photographer, he shot back saying that he did nothing wrong because the
casket was placed near the media area on purpose. In the end, the family lost the case, still felt
that their privacy was invaded and many people outside of the family were upset at either the
photographer or the family for suing. Mill would say that publishing this photo was unethical
because it upset a lot of people and did more harm than good.
The second issue at hand in this case is the issue of respect. To start with, media wanting
to take pictures of the deceased in the first place is a little disrespectful because they are trying to
make money and create publicity over someone elses mourning. Then, when the photographer
took this picture at the funeral of the soldier, he chose to publish it with the hope of gaining
public attention. Then when the photographer put the bulk of the blame on the parents of the
deceased, he showed disrespect towards the family and the deceased himself. This upset people
all over because it was another example of the media using private and personal events to make
money. Based on the value of respect, Mill would say that publishing the photo was unethical.
Analysis of Situation- Questions at the End of Book
The question that I thought best pertained to this case study is: does it make a difference
that Turnley and other media were given permission to attend the funeral? This does not make a
difference because while the media was given permission to attend the funeral, they were not
permitted to take invasive and personal pictures of the deceased. The family specifically asked
the media to stay in a specific location while at the funeral so that notion alone should have been
evidence enough that the family wanted some amount of privacy for their son. The other part of

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this case is that the photographer took the picture and then published it without getting
permission from the family first. The fact that the family gave the media permission to attend the
funeral does not validate them taking and publishing personal pictures.
Decision
After analyzing and reading this case study, I have decided that it was unethical for the
photographer to take that picture and then publish it. It was simply a way to gain attention and
make money, and in the end it upset a lot more people than it pleased. This picture was of a
private family moment and publishing it for the public to see was disrespectful to all involved
and an invasion of privacy.

Chapter 8 Case Study: 8I

Erika Throckmorton
CO 465 Media Ethics
November 12, 2015