'Most Viewed'

The "most viewed photo" on Yahoo! is this mug shot recently released by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation showing former music producer Phil Spector, who is currently serving a minimum of 19 years in prison for murdering a young woman he enticed to his home. (Evidently they don't let him wear his wigs in the penitentiary.) He apparently committed the crime for no other reason than a thrill. Taken June 5th.

Mike

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Comments

[Jim in Denver]

Huh.

Not exactly sure why you posted this...

[Mike]

It took 6 years for him to get sentenced! Is that a speedy trial?

[Marc Rochkind]

Is that the wall of sound behind him?

--Marc

[erlik]

There was a guy going under pspector or something like that on Twitter, who said he was the Phil Spector. But he was discovered to be a hoaxster.

That may be one of the reasons why the photo went to the top.

[Bojidar]

This must be first ever TOP-post whose content disappoints. (And please take this comment as a compliment!)

[Wieland]

Spooky, if you know the background.

[Jeremy]

Phil is going to find out what a "Wall of Sound" really is.

[Colin Work]

Which just proves (if proof were needed) that getting a picture that interests people is much more important than worrying about technical details.

Cheers,

Colin

[Gavin McLelland]

The headline in the Sun, a UK tabloid, was "river deep, forehead high". Irreverance aside mug shots always make me feel uncomfortable, voyeuristic gazing at people at possibly one of the worst moment in their lives.
Gavin

[Tom]

That's Mr. Burns from the Simpsons. I'm sure of it.

[Mike Johnston]

"Is that the wall of sound behind him?"

Marc,
I think that's the wall of silence.

Mike

[Mike Johnston]

"mug shots always make me feel uncomfortable, voyeuristic gazing at people at possibly one of the worst moment in their lives."

This scumbag deserves it though, don't you think?

Mike

[Iñaki]

Sorry if ever being not too polite or inappropriate, but the thing that staggered me is that I kind of like this high key portraits.

I tend to like how blatant and crude police record photos are. They do have an unintended "i see through your eyes" quality.

That being said, just a disclaimer: I do not know who this guy is [nor have any intention to do any research about him], nor what he did. So if you feel this is inappropriate, just do not post it.

But I still think it should be part of a monthly "random jail excellence". Honest.

[Gavin McLelland]

Mike, given the nature of his crime he does but I was thinking generaly, these mug shots are like the last vestiges of public punishments, the thing you mostly see engravings of, public floggings or hangings.

[richardplondon]

...at the very least, we now know that he's slightly taller from the front, than he is from the side...

[Lubo]

Gavin,
I think that our society is too tough sometimes on small offenders and sometimes too feeble-seeming against serious crime. Because of that I have no problem with this particular public punishment. (Public torture and execution certainly not.)

[yunfat]

If you are into this sort of thing...

www.picktheperp.com

is a full days entertainment.

[KeithB]

"It took 6 years for him to get sentenced! Is that a speedy trial?"

It was his second trial, his first, much more publicised, more circus-like trial ended in a mistrial. (Sound like another famous trial in Southern California?) IIRC, much of the delay in the first was due to him.

The second was much speedier and below the radar.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Do we really have to hurt our eyes (and brains) every time we visit T.O.P. in the next couple of days? Please take the picture down and spare us the torture!

[Toe Tag]

"Irreverance aside mug shots always make me feel uncomfortable, voyeuristic gazing at people at possibly one of the worst moment in their lives."

'Tis nothing. You should have seen the morgue shot of his victim--she had a worse moment in her life.

[Bill Bresler]

If ever an image cried out for Photoshop, this is it...

[k4kafka]

I'm a bit annoyed by your terse summation, "He apparently committed the crime for no other reason than a thrill"...Really ?

[Mike Johnston]

"I'm a bit annoyed by your terse summation, 'He apparently committed the crime for no other reason than a thrill'...Really ?"

Well, you supply your own motive, then. She was essentially a stranger to him, and he had a history of bullying and dominating women, evidently to gratify some sort of sick need to make himself feel powerful. It certainly appeared to me to be a perverted crime without a rational motive...he didn't have any relationship with the woman he killed and she had done nothing to him. Her mistake apparently consisted of letting herself get picked up by a rich guy. But go read about it and draw your own conclusions if you want to--I'm not stopping you.

Mike

[Seth Glassman]

Though never a sweetheart, he was one of the greatest record producers of all time. I know many people who were hurt by him but owe their careers to him. Can we have some respect for who he once was?

[Dave Kee]

Yeah and Hitler did some nice watercolors. Godwin strikes again.

[Seth Glassman]

I'm not apologizing for Spector. He was once undeniably one of the greatest in the world at something creative. His depravity and cruelty don't change that, nor does it disqualify his art. Would you compare Caravaggio to Hitler? They were both painters, at least.