Ten after 3: Fight over Dale Earnhardt's autopsy photos leads to victory for family privacy

Don Coble| Florida Times-UnionDAYTONA BEACH - Bill Posey received more than 10,000 e-mails when he led a push in the Florida Senate to seal Dale Earnhardt's autopsy photographs, but none more lasting than a simple and heartfelt "thank you" from Kristen Bonnett.From that moment, the Earnhardt Family Protection Act was more than a matter of law for Posey. It was an obsession.Bonnett, the daughter of stock car racing legend Neil Bonnett, already had endured the horrific pain of losing her father in an accident Feb. 11, 1994, while he practiced for the Daytona 500. But the pain for Kristen and the rest of her family was magnified by the release of photos of her dead father's autopsy on the Internet.Posey, a racer himself, wanted to make sure nobody's privacy, even in death, would be violated again."When I heard people were lining up to get copies of Dale Earnhardt's autopsy photos, it made me sick," Posey said. "A family has the right to protect its dignity."Posey, now a U.S. congressman (...