Mass Killers: Don’t Name Them, Don’t Show Them, But Report Everything Else

A while back, Professor Adam Lankford (Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of Alabama) sent me an open letter to the media and asked if I would sign my name to it. I, along with 146 other scholars, agreed.

The letter (reprinted in full below) asks the media “to take a principled stand in your future coverage of mass killers that could potentially save lives”:

1. Don’t name the perpetrator.
2. Don’t use photos or likenesses of the perpetrator.
3. Stop using the names, photos, or likenesses of past perpetrators.
4. Report everything else about these crimes in as much detail as desired.

The release of this letter after the Las Vegas massacre is timely, but it also follows the publication of a paper by Lankford and Eric Madfis (University of Washington-Tacoma) in the American Behavioral Scientist explaining the scholarly basis for the letter.

Here is some coverage of the letter in the media so far:

• http://www.newsweek.com/mass-killers-vegas-shooter-should-not-be-named-news-coverage-experts-say-677092
• https://www.livescience.com/60595-stop-naming-mass-shooters-say-scientists.html
• http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/10/dear_media_stop_using_mass_mur.html

Full text of the letter and signatories:

October 2, 2017

Dear Members of the Media,

We are scholars, professors, and law enforcement professionals who have collectively studied mass shooters, school shooters, workplace shooters, active shooters, mass murderers, terrorists, and other perpetrators of crime.

We strongly urge you to take a principled stand in your future coverage of mass killers that could potentially save lives:

1. Don’t name the
2. Don’t use photos or likenesses of the
3. Stop using the names, photos, or likenesses of past
4. Report everything else about these crimes in as much detail as

We agree—and believe you will as well—that the particular sequence of letters that make up offenders’ names, and the particular configuration of bones, cartilage, and flesh that make up offenders’ faces are among the least newsworthy details about them. That information itself tells us nothing, and has no inherent value. However, by reporting everything else about these crimes in as much detail as desired, you can continue to fulfill your responsibility to the public.

As scholars, professors, and law enforcement professionals, we do not agree on everything. Some of us believe that by denying mass shooters fame, we would deter some future fame-seekers from attacking. Some of us believe that by no longer creating de facto celebrities out of killers, we would reduce contagion and copycat effects. Some of us believe that by no longer rewarding the deadliest offenders with the most personal attention, we would reduce the competition among them to maximize victim fatalities.

However, all of us agree that it is important to stop giving fame-seeking mass shooters the personal attention they want. This sentiment has already been echoed by many members of the United States government, the law enforcement community, and the media itself.

We recognize that there are exceptional cases, such as during the search for an escaped suspect, when the publication of that individual’s name and image may be temporarily necessary. However, we believe that in the vast majority of cases, the media can easily adhere to the guidelines stated above.

There is already precedent for this approach: the media typically does not broadcast fans who run on the field during professional sporting events, does not publish the names of sexual assault victims, and does not publish the names of underage mass shooters who attack in Canada, where such information is already kept confidential.

We hope that as members of the media, you are ready to take a stand, adopt the measures listed above, and encourage your colleagues to do the same. The costs would be minimal, and the benefit is that you could literally save lives.

Sincerely,

1. Richard Aborn, Citizens Crime Commission of New York City
2. Thomas Abt, Harvard University
3. Michael Adorjan, University of Calgary
4. Tammi Arford, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
5. Hasan Arslan, Pace University
6. Rachel Bandy, Simpson College (fmr.)
7. Denise L. Bissler, Randolph-Macon College
8. Ragnhild Bjørnebekk, Norwegian Police University College
9. Hester Brink, Rotterdam Police Force, Netherlands
10. Alan Bruce, Quinnipiac University
11. Amanda Bunting, University of Kentucky
12. George Burruss, University of South Florida
13. Nicholas Carleton, University of Regina
14. Erin Casey, University of Washington, Tacoma
15. Tammy L. Castle, James Madison University
16. James Clemente, Federal Bureau of Investigation (ret.)
17. Jeffrey Cohen, University of Washington, Tacoma
18. Kiersten Compofelice-Taylor, Sam Houston State University
19. Mark Coulson, Middlesex University London
20. Stephanie S. Covington, Center for Gender and Justice
21. Michael J. Coyle, California State University, Chico
22. Hugh Curtis, Simon Fraser University
23. Sarah Daly, St. Vincent College
24. Steve Daniels, Wisconsin Association of Homicide Investigators
25. Joseph De Angelis, University of Idaho
26. Josephine DeCarlo, California University of Pennsylvania
27. James Densley, Metropolitan State University
28. JoAnne DeRouen, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
29. James Dudley, San Francisco State University
30. Laura Dugan, University of Maryland
31. Don Dutton, University of British Columbia
32. Chantal Fahmy, Arizona State University
33. James Fallon, University of California, Irvine
34. Michael Fitzpatrick, New York State Courts
35. Jerry Flores, University of Toronto
36. Hank Fradella, Arizona State University
37. Erika Gebo, Suffolk University
38. Jungyun Gill, Stonehill College
39. Lelia Green, Edith Cowan University
40. Glynn Greensmith, Curtin University
41. Xavier L. Guadalupe-Diaz, Framingham State University
42. Elizabeth Gurian, Norwich University
43. Janelle Hawes, University of Washington, Tacoma
44. Josh A. Hendrix, RTI International
45. Alex M. Holsinger, University of Missouri–Kansas City
46. Kristi Holsinger, University of Missouri–Kansas City
47. Keith Humphreys, Stanford University
48. Gregory Hunt, American University
49. David Hureau, University at Albany–SUNY
50. Darrell D. Irwin, Central China Normal University
51. Michael J. Jenkins, University of Scranton
52. Robert Jenkot, Coastal Carolina University
53. Ida Johnson, University of Alabama
54. Jennifer Johnston, Western New Mexico University
55. Stephanie C. Kane, Indiana University
56. David Kennedy, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
57. Deniese Kennedy-Kollar, Molloy College
58. Michael Kimmel, Stony Brook University
59. Gerd Ferdinand Kirchhoff, Jindal Global University
60. Gary Kleck, Florida State University
61. Mark Kleiman, New York University
62. James L. Knoll, SUNY Upstate Medical University
63. Lisa A. Kort-Butler, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
64. Jonathan Kremser, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
65. Susan M. Kunkle, Kent State University
66. Peter Langman, School Info
67. Adam Lankford, University of Alabama
68. Matthew J. Larson, Wayne State University
69. Jody L. Lay, Terrell Police Department
70. Jack Levin, Northeastern University
71. Bronwen Lichtenstein, University of Alabama
72. Rolf Loeber, University of Pittsburgh
73. Matt Logan, HALO Forensic Behavioral Specialists
74. Stephanie Maass, Norwich University
75. Eric Madfis, University of Washington, Tacoma
76. Edward Maguire, Arizona State University
77. William Malone, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (ret.)
78. Jeff Mathwig, Center for Homicide Research
79. Adam K. Matz, University of North Dakota
80. James N. Meindl, University of Memphis
81. Danielle McDonald, Northern Kentucky University
82. Rochelle McGee-Cobbs, Mississippi Valley State University
83. Dustin Melbardis, Texas State University
84. Reid Meloy, University of California San Diego
85. William Modzeleski, U.S. Department of Education (ret.)
86. Patricia Morris, California State University, Sacramento
87. Jennifer L. Murray, Indiana State University
88. Glenn Muschert, Miami University
89. Chrystie Myketiak, University of Brighton
90. Katherine Newman, University of Massachusetts Amherst
91. Sarah Nicksa, Widener University
92. Tanya Nieri, University of California, Riverside
93. Matt Nobles, University of Central Florida
94. Miriam Northcutt Bohmert, Indiana University
95. Atte Oksanen, University of Tampere, Finland
96. Ihekwoaba D. Onwudiwe, Texas Southern University
97. Jeffery R. Osborne, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
98. John L. Padgett, Psychosocial Dynamics, LLC
99. Tom Pakkanen, Åbo Akademi University
100. Nicholas L. Parsons, Eastern Connecticut State University
101. William Phelps, Atypical Homicide Research Group
102. Nickie Phillips, St. Francis College
103. Steven Pinker, Harvard University
104. Michael Pittaro, American Military University
105. Ariane Prohaska, University of Alabama
106. Lisa Rapp-McCall, Saint Leo University
107. Jerry Ratcliffe, Temple University
108. Wendy C. Regoeczi, Cleveland State University
109. Sasha Reid, University of Toronto
110. Phillip Resnick, Case Western Reserve University
111. Rose Ricciardelli, Memorial University of Newfoundland
112. Barrie J. Ritter, Ritter Homicide Research
113. Melinda R. Roberts, University of Southern Indiana
114. Frank J. Robertz, Fachhochschule der Polizei Brandenburg
115. Ann Marie Rocheleau, Stonehill College
116. Michael Rocque, Bates College
117. Forrest R. Rodgers, Salem State University
118. Raquel Rosés, ETH Zürich
119. Jeffrey Ian Ross, University of Baltimore
120. Kim Rossmo, Texas State University
121. Randolph Roth, Ohio State University
122. Stephanie Ryon, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
123. Mark E. Safarik, Forensic Behavioral Services
124. Christine Sarteschi, Chatham University
125. Laurie Schaffner, University of Illinois at Chicago
126. Jaclyn Schildkraut, State University of New York (SUNY) Oswego
127. Hannah Scott, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
128. Theresa A. Severance, Eastern Connecticut State University
129. Wayne Shelley, Sitting Bull College
130. Clete Snell, University of Houston-Downtown
131. Carol Stabile, University of Oregon
132. Jessica Stern, Boston University
133. Charles B. Strozier, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
134. Lucia Summers Rodriguez, Texas State University
135. Melanie A. Taylor, University of Nevada Reno
136. Danielle Tscherne, University of Toledo
137. Anthony Vander Horst, Kent State University
138. Taryn VanderPyl, Pacific University
139. Miika Vuori, Kela – Research Department
140. Bryce Westlake, San Jose State University
141. Stephanie A. Whitus, Aurora University
142. Julie B. Wiest, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
143. Jimmy Williams, University of Alabama
144. Nicholas H. Wolfinger, University of Utah
145. Enzo Yaksic, Atypical Homicide Research Group
146. David Yamane, Wake Forest University
147. Adam Zwickle, Michigan State University