14 DAY TRIAL // In the trial against Dr. Conrad Murray, in which Michael Jackson’s personal doctor is accused of manslaughter, prosecutors presented a photo of the late star, lying dead on a gurney, taken before the autopsy. It’s already online.
The press has access to the trial, and TMZ is streaming it online. It’s also presenting everything that’s going on inside the courthouse in full detail in lengthy posts.
Presumably because TMZ aims for full coverage of the event, it also uploaded a photo shown in court by prosecutors: Michael Jackson dead on a gurney, before the autopsy.
“Prosecutors just showed an image of Michael Jackson’s dead, naked body sprawled on a gurney – taken hours after the singer died,” the e-zine writes.
“The date on the tiles beside his body appears to read August 25th, 2009 – but MJ’s autopsy doctor Christopher Rogers claims the date is wrong... it should read June 25th,” TMZ adds.
While coverage of the trial is welcome, there’s a thin line that shouldn’t be crossed, Michael Jackson fans believe – and TMZ was the first to cross it.
In comments to the aforementioned post including the death photo, fans urge TMZ to take it down because Michael’s three children or family members might see it and no one wants to see their loved ones like that.
It’s disrespectful and very offending to run a photo that was only meant to prosecutors and jury’s eyes in a court of law, others chime in.
Not even feigning an interest in the truth, as they believe TMZ does with its coverage of the trial, justifies this, posting Michael’s death photo.
This is not the first time that fans join forces to voice their dissatisfaction with the way the singer’s death is being exploited for entertainment purposes.
Almost one year ago, Discovery announced it would run a documentary called “Michael Jackson’s Autopsy: What Really Killed Michael Jackson,” a re-enactment of the autopsy as presented by witnesses and court documents.
Following public outrage and fans’ pleas, the documentary never saw the light of day.