The McCarron family invites those who wish to keep Katie’s memory alive to view and download this image, and to post it on their websites and blogs. They – and we – only ask that the image be used in remembering Katie as a beautiful, precious, and happy little girl. They, and we, do not approve of the pictures being used as part of a message suggesting that she was “in pain” or a “burden.”
They do not wish for the photo to be used in any way suggesting Katie’s death is associated with a “problem” arising from a lack of services, or a symptom of “desperation” felt by other families. Using Katie’s picture in these ways would only be an insult to her memory and cause more pain to an already grieving family.
With the exception of the print edition of the Chicago Tribune (link no longer active), no pictures of Katie McCarron have appeared in the coverage of her alleged murder by her mother. Katie’s grandfather, Michael McCarron, has sent us these pictures taken back in North Carolina. Katie’s return to Morton, IL after 20 months was brief – she was allegedly killed after only ten days.
Disability Advocates Call for Restraint and Responsibility in Murder Coverage (Not Dead Yet Press Release, June 22, 2006)
For more on Katie and how her family remembers her, please check out the discussion at Autism Vox. Michael McCarron has been discussing Katie, his family, his grief and his frustrations with other parents and autistic advocates.
Check out these articles:
Katie McCarron, Charles-Antoine Blais, real children, real people.
Speaking Truth to Power – by ABFH
Mike Stanton – For Mike and Katie McCarron
Katie McCarron, by Jessica Hayes, Public Relations & Marketing Coordinator, Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois (July-August 2006 CCDI Newsletter)
Also visit these links:
Mercy! Here We Go Again! Carol Carr shoots her two sons to death — they have Huntington’s disease and Atlanta media reports it as a “mercy killing.” Not Dead Yet Research Analyst Stephen Drake looks at the 2002 news stories that were — and weren’t — reported. READ ARTICLE
Father’s Day 2000 Dick Sobsey, Director of the JP Das Developmental Centre at the University of Alberta, reflects on fathers who kill their kids — and Roy Rogers. READ ARTICLE from Ragged Edge Online.
Why we shouldn’t blame the murders of disabled kids on lousy services Dick Sobsey, Director of the JP Das Developmental Centre at the University of Alberta, offers 11 reasons.
Look for Annie, Abuse. In 1995, journalist David Rundle read of the murder of a 14-year-old girl with cerebral palsy — from starvation. He was appalled at the lack of passion with which the perpetrator – her mother – was prosecuted. The idea that this was an isolated case, he writes, made it endurable. Turns out the case – and the system’s response — aren’t isolated ones at all. This opinion article originally ran in the Apr. 23, 2006 Wichita Eagle
If I Am Killed Ballastexistenz’s blogger writes, “This is about how I want you to remember the person who killed me: I don’t want you furthering the stereotype that ‘mental illness’ or autism is an explanation or excuse for murder, by pitying the ‘sick’ person who did this instead of condemning the act equally no matter what the person’s diagnosis. I don’t want you to blame anyone’s desperation, either. . . READ ARTICLE.
From ‘Mercy Killing’ to ‘Domestic Violence: Shirley Harrison, the Chicago Media and Not Dead Yet When Shirley Harrison’s husband shot her in early 2002, media reported it as a “mercy killing.” Not Dead Yet Research Analyst Stephen Drake reports on the effort by Chicago Not Dead Yet activists to get reporters to understand it as domestic violence. READ ARTICLE from Ragged Edge Online.