Connecticut's House and Senate voted to approve a bill blocking public release of photos of homicide victims in reaction to the Newtown shooting last December.
According to The Hartford Courant, the bill applies to all homicide cases and will block public distribution of "photos, videos or digital video images 'depicting the victim of a homicide, to the extent that such record could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy' of the victim or surviving family members."
However, audiotapes of 911 emergency calls will be released as public records under the state Freedom of Information Law.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed the bill that takes effect immediately on Wednesday. Malloy issued the following statement after the vote:
"My goal with this legislation was to provide some measure of protection for the families affected by the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School [in Newtown]. But the fact is, all families have a right to grieve in private. Those who lose loved ones to violence have a right to protect themselves against further anguish. This is a difficult issue, requiring all of us to balance deeply held beliefs and important public policy values. I commend the legislators on coming to an agreement that respects the privacy of grieving families."
The law also exempts the names of witnesses under 18 years old from disclosure to balance victim's privacy and public information.
Parents Nicole and Ian Hockley, whose son Dylan one of the 26 victims killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, released a statement to Change.org saying they do not want to see photos of their son nor listen to 911 recording.
"I want to preserve his memory as a beautiful boy - not as a gun-riddled corpse,'' Nicole Hockley told Change.org in the statement. "I also do not want his brother Jake to see these photos or listen to the execution of his brother, friends and teachers on 911 tapes."
