Recently here in Fresno, our police shot and killed Joaquin Figueroa, a man suspected of shooting a Fresno police officer and committing numerous other violent crimes in the past few months.

The day after the shooting, an aerial photo on the front page of the paper showed the suspect's body. Several readers objected to our use of the photo.

Last Sunday, our executive editor, Betsy Lumbye, wrote a piece for our Vision section, explaining the thought process that goes into choosing photos and why some graphic ones are excluded.

"I respect the fact that people don't want to be faced with gore when they pick up the newspaper," Lumbye wrote. "I understand that they want to protect their children. I know that you can choose not to read a disturbing story, but it's not so easy to avoid a front page picture. For that reason, we'll continue to avoid pictures that show bodies and bloodshed, especially on the front page. But I will consider exceptions for compelling reasons or when the picture is not graphic."

Her commentary directs readers to an online poll , showing several controversial photos and asking readers to decide how they would play the photo if they were the editor.

This Sunday we will be following up, using comments from several who responded to the survey.

(Photo by Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee)