In an article entitled The Real Face of Terror: Behind the Scenes Photos of the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Manhunt, 'trooper photographer' Sean Murphy has released a series of photos that graphically portray the manhunt and eventual capture of Tsarnaev in Boston's Watertown district. The final shots show an injured Tsarnaev emerging from the boat where he was hiding and his wounds being treated by emergency response medics.

The photographs have not been released through official channels, and Murphy could face prosecution. He has already been relieved from duty, according to the writer of the article:

Sgt. Sean Murphy has been relieved of duty. Post coming shortly.

— John Wolfson (@johnwolfson) July 19, 2013

Explaining his reasoning, Murphy argues "photography is very simple, it’s very basic. It brings us back to the cave. An image like this on the cover of Rolling Stone, we see it instantly as being wrong. What Rolling Stone did was wrong. This guy is evil. This is the real Boston bomber. Not someone fluffed and buffed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine."

You can read the full article and see the photos here.

The photographs and response of Murphy have sharply divided opinion, much like the response to the Rolling Stone cover itself.

One visitor to the Boston Magazine site writes in response to Murphy that "if your objection is that the cover photo of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev disrespects the victims of his alleged crimes because it focuses on the criminal rather than the crimes then you’re arguing for such a narrow view of journalism and journalistic priorities that the end product would probably do little to educate, enlighten, and engage readers. [But] if your objection is that Rolling Stone’s intention is to drive sales with sensational cover photos, well, yeah."

(Image: Sean Murphy)