Media Bias Article Selection

Rationale 

This article is a modified version of an article previously read on Al Jazeera America that headlines, "Autopsy of Sandra Bland reveals no signs of murder."  Sandra Bland was a woman found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County Texas; her death was classified as a suicide but an increased amount of awareness against racial profiling and police misconduct has ignited national debate against the true cause of Sandra's death. Family and friends called for an independent autopsy, and stated that it was unlikely that Bland would have killed herself, mentioning how she was upbeat about the job she was about to begin. This raises many questions as to how consumers of the media should view the situation; should we listen to news reports and suggested facts, or the personal accusations provided by Bland's family? In the article written particularly by Al Jazeera, provides a detailed account  of the analysis of Bland's autopsy report, submitted by Waller County prosecutor, Warren Diepramm.  This rewritten article will offer a more emotional and personal insight regarding the situation of Bland's imprisonment, which reflects the main ideas of family members and local activists. 

Article:

Bland- a 28 year old African American women- tragically died in Waller County jail just three days after a Texas trooper pulled her over during a routine and "normal" traffic stop. Officials classified her death as suicide by hanging, but those who know the Illinois woman treated that classification with skepticism. 

Activists claim her death is the latest example of racial bias and excessive force by US law enforcement. Now theories have emerged on social media, suggesting the Chicago woman may have been dead when her mugshot was taken. police dashboard camera footage shows the traffic stop incident in the most clear manner possible; shows the incident escalating from a warning for failure to signal a lane change to her being placed in handcuffs and a physical altercation with the white trooper. The video of Sandra's brutal arrest confirms she was subject to a violent, racist and traumatic encounter with the police. And though we still don’t know what happened next, one thing is clear: a traffic stop for a failure to signal should not lead to death.

An autopsy conducted by Haris county Institute of Forensic Science concluded that Bland dies through asphyxiation and immediately classified her death as a suicide. Police stated that Bland had used a plastic garbage bag to hang herself. The autopsy report showed Bland had multiple abrasions on the right side of her back, slight abrasions on her wrists, and 25 to 30 healing, parallel cuts on her left forearm that predated her arrest. This autopsy was inspected by the US prosecutor against Bland's family members case. They have previously requested to conduct an autopsy but did not anticipate that the autopsy would be presented by the main Prosecutor in the case. 

Moreover, Bland's prison intake form included a check mark for "yes" on epilepsy, and she can be heard in the video telling the arresting officer that she suffered from the illness. However, the autopsy  did not include a test for epilepsy, and the sheriff’s office said Bland “was offered Emergency Medical Services prior to being transported to the jail” but that she “refused any medical treatment.”