Proof of Death: Police Power and the Visual Economies of Seizure, Accumulation and Trophy

• In Event: Visual Criminology and the Penal Spectacle

Abstract

The phrase proof of life describes visual evidence used to prove a kidnap victim or prisoner of war is alive. As developed here, proof of death describes a similar technique of seizure and display practiced by hunters, native warriors, soldiers and narco-traffickers used to denote hunting prowess, domination and death. This paper elaborates upon proof of death, extending it to “trophy shots” or the police practice of displaying of large sums of money, illicit drugs, weapons and other seized materials. In the context of precarious late-capitalist economies, trophy shots as proof of death usefully reveals how police power is actively involved in seizing the very material of existence and administering, displaying and celebrating everyday domination and death.

Author

• Travis Linnemann, Old Dominion University