Opinion - State, National, International
A small-town mayor and pastor from Alabama confided to a friend that he was facing "dark days" after a right-wing news source ran stories claiming he had used a false identity on the web to share images of himself in female clothing and pictures of people from his community on an adult website.
On Friday, 'Bubba' Copeland tragically took his own life, 48 hours after 1819 News first broke the story containing what they claimed were images of him wearing women's bras, makeup and wigs.
On the day Copeland passed away, another article was published claiming he composed violent fictitious works and shared pictures of people from his area on Reddit and other sites without permission.
"After watching for a day or two people just relentlessly attacking Bubba [online], I was quite bothered by it, and I just decided to reach out to him," former Phenix City School Superintendent Larry DiChiara told NBC News on Monday.
Copeland's story highlights the damaging effects of the process of disclosing one's life to the public - bringing to attention the widespread problem of suicide and cyberbullying. As a journalist or reporter, we should be mindful and highly careful of how we put stories into context. Our job isn't to obstruct but inform.
It was known to those in Copeland's inner circle that the news of his cross-dressing had taken a toll on him. On Friday, the sheriff's office received a call requesting a welfare check, as per authorities. Two deputies headed to Copeland's residence initially, before proceeding to a store he owned, and eventually located him driving on a local highway, according to officials.
The deputies switched on their sirens and attempted to get Copeland to pull over. It was denied as a chase, as neither car exceeded the speed limit. Copeland ceased his journey on Lee County Road 275, close to Road 279, after a span of 10 minutes, then stepped out of the car.
It was reported that he had died by suicide.
DiChiara, the school superintendent, accused those who had mocked and still taunt the late mayor of Copeland's death.
"Some people are just heartless even in the man’s death," he said. "His son is really having a hard time with it. His teenage son is taking it pretty tough."
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