Photography as Evidence (Josephine Langhorst)

Holliday, George. Rodney King Police Beating. 1991. CNN.com. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.

http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/OPINION/03/05/deggans.rodney.king.journalism/t1larg.rodney.king.video.ctsy.jpg

Throughout history, we have seen photography become an institutionalized profession. Photography was being used as a source of evidence by a large range of apparatuses such as scientific, medical, political, and legal (Tagg, pg. 66). These institutions pursuing photography as a justified method for gathering evidence gave it a sense of power. With this power that was being associated with it, photographs were then enabled to serve as a function that can act as a kind of proof in the legal system (Tagg, pg. 67). For example, the photo below had immense power when it came to the Rodney King trial. The photos and video stills used in the Rodney King trial were ruled both relevant and authentic- so they were not dismissed as photographic evidence.

Rodney King was an African-American construction worker who gained nation-wide recognition after videos and photos came out of him being brutally beaten by Los Angeles police officers on March 3, 1991. Rodney King was on parole at the time for robbery and was beaten after being captured after a high-speed chase (“Rodney King.”). A man named George Holliday was the citizen who captured most of the beating on video from his home balcony. The picture above is a photograph used in the Rodney King trial that illustrated police brutality (Deggans). King is on the ground while several police are seen attacking and beating him.

Ut, Nick. Steven Lerman. 1991. Associated Press Images. VCstar.com. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.

http://media.vcstar.com/media/img/photos/2012/04/26/918533_t607.JPG

"The production of photographs for court evidence is now standard practice." (Tagg, pg. 77). Two of the many uses for photographs is that they are used to demonstrate the photo-micrographic analysis of forensic evidence and they also present visual evidence to juries in the court room of "wounding, injuries or damage," and identification purposes (Tagg, pg. 77). Photos in this court case were viewed as reality and had persuasive power that was seen as truthful. These photos served function as independent proof.

Steven Lerman was the attorney for Rodney King. In the second photo above, Lerman is holding up a photograph of Rodney King that shows the extent of his injuries after the beating he faced by LA police officers. During this press conference at Lerman's Beverly Hills office on March 8th, 1991, citizens started to gain interest in the matter after seeing King's injuries. A doctor was also present at the press conference and he went deeper into the details of these injuries ("Police on Trial"). During the trial, many more photos were shown in the courtroom to serve as evidence.

Fujii, Craig. George Holliday. 1991. Associated Press Images. NyDailyNews.com. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1098941.1340165807!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_200/george-holliday.jpg

Photographic Technology: 1991 Sony HandyCam

George Holliday (pictured above), is holding his Sony HandyCam. This device was responsible for recording the Rodney King beating. This camcorder was a top-of-the-line product during the time of the incident. It has over 400 lines of resolution and even hi-fi-stereo sound. There were also many setting that offered options to help adjust image quality ("20th 'Anniversary' of the Infamous Rodney King Traffic Stop Today.").

Works Cited:

"20th ‘Anniversary’ of the Infamous Rodney King Traffic Stop Today." 20th ‘Anniversary’ of the Infamous Rodney King Traffic Stop Today. N.p., 3 Mar. 2011. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. <http://totaltrafficla.com/2011/03/03/20th-anniversary-of-the-infamous-rodney-king-traffic-stop-toda/7824>.

Deggans, Eric. "How the Rodney King Video Paved the Way for Today's Citizen Journalism." CNN. Cable News Network, 07 Mar. 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/03/05/deggans.rodney.king.journalism>.

Fujii, Craig. George Holliday. 1991. Associated Press Images. NyDailyNews.com. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.

Gonzalez, Juan. "George Holliday, the Man with the Camera Who Shot Rodney King While Police Beat Him, Got Burned, Too." NY Daily News. N.p., 20 June 2012. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/george-holliday-man-camera-shot-rodney-king-police-beat-burned-article-1.1098931>.

Holliday, George. Rodney King Police Beating. 1991. CNN.com. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.

"Police on Trial." Ventura County Star. Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. <http://www.vcstar.com/photos/galleries/2012/apr/28/police-trial/42798>.

"Rodney King." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_King>.

Tagg, J. (1993). The Burden of Representation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Ut, Nick. Steven Lerman. 1991. Associated Press Images. VCstar.com. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.