Thursday, August 09, 2007

Nancy Grace and suicide

Here's a story about Nancy Grace grilling someone on her show, and the person then kills herself. Sometimes Nancy Grace is on the TV at the fitness center, and I have to see her image - I turn away, ignore her, but her image is so compelling (like trying not to look at Satan if her appeared in front of you) that I end up feeling suicidal myself. She is a lawyer and former prosecutor (for a short time) who turned to broadcast "journalism" after the murder of her finance (which was tragic but she really distorts the facts surrounding that). She interviews "guests" (victims) in a way never allowed in court - she presumes everyone is guilty until they prove they are innocent to her. Why anyone would appear on her show is beyond me. Here is the story:

Lawyers for CNN and Nancy Grace have asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses the TV host of pushing the mother of a missing toddler to suicide through aggressive questioning. CNN and Grace say the wrongful death lawsuit brought by Melinda Duckett's family would "severely chill" journalists' coverage of missing-persons cases, according to federal court documents filed Friday.
"The law does not permit people to recover money from reporters who ask routine questions while covering ongoing stories of national significance to the public," lawyer Judith Mercier wrote. Kara Skorupa, a lawyer for Duckett's estate, said a response would be filed by next week. Duckett, 21, was on Grace's show a year ago after her son Trenton went missing from her apartment. Grace grilled the woman, accusing her of hiding something because Duckett did not take a lie-detector test and answered vaguely regarding her whereabouts. Police later named Duckett the prime suspect in the boy's disappearance. Duckett shot and killed herself the day the taped interview was scheduled to broadcast. The lawsuit blames Grace for severe emotional distress that led to the suicide. Trenton, who would turn 3 on Friday, has not been found.

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