Rethinking? Don't know? What would it take to associate Mr. Dunavan's handiwork sufficiently with evil for him to conclude for sure that this is bad publicity?Jason Dunavan, a tattoo artist in Champaign, said he spent hours as recently as last month creating tattoos for [the killer]. His work included an image of the macabre doll from the horror movie "Saw" riding a tricycle through a pool of blood with images of several bleeding cuts in the background.
Dunavan said he was so proud of the tattoo that he enlarged a photo of it and placed it on a wall in his shop — a move he is now rethinking.
"I don't know if I still want that picture on my wall," said Dunavan, who also described [the killer] as timid and apologetic.
Note that the media coverage of this tragedy---including the detailed picture of the killer and extensive use of his name and likeness---is nearly certain to contribute to copycatting. Indeed, this killing is itself quite possibly a copycat event. And no, I'm not calling for censorship, just a bit of self-restraint. The press has shown itself capable of voluntarily not releasing exit polls until polls close, so self-restraint is possible.
Posted by Mike Dorf
