Nation - Atlanta Magazine wants crime scene pics

ATLANTA (AP) -- Authorities said Monday they will not give Hustler Magazine crime scene and autopsy photos of a Georgia college student who was slain while hiking, with one lawmaker calling the porn publication's request "vile" and "disgusting." Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said his agency would reject the magazine's "indecent" request for the photos of Meredith Emerson, whose decapitated body was found in January 2008 in the north Georgia woods. The 24-year-old University of Georgia student had been beaten to death. Hustler Magazine last week asked for the photos as part of an open records request filed with the GBI, though it was unclear why. A phone call to the magazine's Beverly Hills, Calif., headquarters was not immediately returned Monday. House Speaker David Ralston blasted the request and said he had instructed the GBI to refuse to hand over the material. "It's sickening. I think it's disgusting. I think it is vile and I think it is very, very hurtful to this family," the Republican from Blue Ridge told reporters on Monday. Gary Michael Hilton is serving a life sentence for Emerson's murder. Authorities have linked him to at least three other slayings. State Rep. Jill Chambers, an Atlanta Republican, will introduce legislation next week to exempt such crime scene photos from the state's open records law. Autopsy photos are currently exempt from the state's open records law. But Ralston, a lawyer, said crime scene photographs of a body fall into a legal gray area. Ralston said the proposed "Meredith Emerson Privacy Act" would move quickly to a vote in the chamber. However, that bill would not apply to Hustler's request if passed. The magazine could choose to fight GBI's denial in court. Ralston said he's hopeful the courts would deny Hustler's request. Published: Wed, Mar 10, 2010

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