The Brothers Grimm could not have penned a more germane cautionary tale.
Nancy Grace, the CNN talking (and talking, and talking, and talking) head, is in the midst of a wrongful death suit brought against her by the family of Melinda Duckett, a 21-year-old woman who shot herself in 2006 after Grace interviewed her about the disappearance of her two-year-old son.
Ironically, and for perhaps the first time in her life, Grace is camera shy. The Orlando Sentinel reports:
The latest news has the woman who will exploit anything for ratings — we’re talking slaughtered children, abused spouses, you name it — suddenly deciding that some people are entitled to privacy.
And by “some people,” she means her.
The latest news has Grace’s lawyers trying to ban cameras from videotaping her being questioned about a woman, Melinda Duckett, who killed herself after Grace interviewed her.
Grace — who has made an entire career out of turning other people’s tragedies into entertainment — argued that the video might cause “annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, and undue harm should the videotape be released prior to trial for purposes unrelated to the litigation,” according to the emergency motion, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Ocala.
Now, as far as the legal issues are concerned, it seems to me that Counselor Yakety-Yak should be fully protected in this case by the First Amendment. Sure, she’s among the most obnoxious and grating personalities to “grace” CNN in recent history, but it’s a slippery slope to start holding journalists legally responsible for asking questions … no matter how cruel and insensitive those questions might be.
That said, I’m not sure she can dodge the bullet (see, now that was insensitive) on the whole “not wanting to answer for her actions on camera” thing. Ah, Nancy, the media is a cruel, cruel mistress. Now, smile for the cameras!
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I guess Karma is a bitch.
I have always said Nancy Grace is a horrible human being. I don’t just mean that she’s a horrible person (but she is) – I mean that she is a horrible imitation of a human. As if she were about to reip off her skin and reveal the vile reptilian form beneath.
Also, that is a great picture accompanying the post.
C’mon Jrod you totally would.
Those familiar with the case immediately come to the realizatoin that Grace used her notoriety, infamy, and experience as a prosecutor to drive a fragile person to suicide.
I think the Court will agree this is no different than yelling jump at a rooftop ledge sitter.
Nancy Grace should do time for this crime.
She should change her name.
There is nothing pertaining to Grace about her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9xbiT4MuzA
I’m actually glad that the judge is not allowing witness videos to be released to the public. Regardless of who the witness is, I don’t think such videos need to become public fodder.
However, I do appreciate the irony/hypocrisy, since Grace apparently has aired similar videos from other cases.
It’s about damn time. She should be held responsible for what she’d done. I absolutely agree with Fortunate Son on this one – she drove Melinda Duckett to suicide, plain and simple. She wasn’t just asking questions – she yelled at Melinda Duckett, accused her…who gave her the right to do that? I’m glad Melinda Duckett’s family memebers are doing something about it. Nancy Grace is such a vile, disgusting human being. And a pathetic excuse for a journalist. I swear, this woman makes Ann Coulter look like Mrs. Claus.
Just to stir it up….what if this person was guilty? And maybe the pressure from the guilt lead her to kill herself? Seriously… don’t go on her show if you don’t want to. But at least she’s not one of these pro-criminal types who blames society. She says a lot of stuff many of us think.
I was about 4 miles from where the kids that Susan Smith killed where found in Union, South Carolina. There was no one there to say on TV ” I blame the mother” but we were thinking it. Something like 95% of murders & abductions are friends & family members. Mothers kill a lot children every year.
Just saying….
Lest we forget, Jenny Jones had give depositions regarding the death of Scott Amedure after he was murdered because of segment she did about secret lovers. Also, the First Amendment does not protect against defmation. See New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964).
Thing is, Ronin, now we’ll never know if Duckett was guilty or not. The article cited states that she is/was the only suspect, which doesn’t look good. Yet “innocent until proven guilty” still stands, and it wouldn’t be too farfetched to suppose that someone whose little boy had gone missing could very easily be pushed over the edge by a lipsticked chihuahua like NG.
Beige, on this one I have to disagree. She might be a bitch and harass people ( those who appear on her show) but if this mother wasn’t guilty and had any hope of finding her kid why would she kill herself? I don’t care how mean NG might be if I thought my kid would need me and was alive I would knock down whoever stood in my way to get to him (or them, I have 2) I just don’t see someone, a parent, killing themselves when their child needs them most.
Not too far fetched to kill yourself? It is if you’re a parent.
I see your point, and I agree that IF she had any hope of finding him, she should have stuck around no matter how nasty Grace was. Obviously, she didn’t have that hope. (Shoot, for all we know she was guilty; we’ll just never know for sure, unless they find his little body and there’s some sort of evidence of her involvement.)
My point was not that she should commit suicide, or that ANYBODY “should”, but that if I were in that situation, I’d be hysterical and nearly mad with grief and fear and worry. At that point I couldn’t guarantee what I’d do.
I don’t think of Nancy Grace so much as a camera whore, rather just a whore. Now I’m not suggesting anything sexual in nature, but rather someone who will stoop to tremendous immoral lengths for personal gain. Right now she’s doing it in front of a camera, but she’s the type of person who will lie, cheat, and steal for gain regardless of whether the camera is on or off.
If you think she’s dirty and underhanded when the camera is on, just imagine the dealings that go on in her office when the door is closed. She’ll do anything she has to, she’ll step on anybody in her way, for personal gain and success. There is one person important to Nancy Grace, and that’s Nancy Grace.
Now being the semi-Objectivist that I am, I can appreciate that to a certain extent. Except that personal gain should be achieved through honest, ethical means. But “honesty” and “ethics” don’t appear in Grace’s dictionary.
I can still hardly believe that somebody like Nancy Grace can be on the air, even at 2 AM…yet she has an hour on prime time every single weeknight. Mind-boggling.
But then I just saw a commercial last night for the “Miss America” content, which will be held in Las Vegas…in case the connection between the pageant, and “getting lucky” with a “lady of the evening” isn’t clear enough…
…and you can see it only on…
*sigh*
…”The Learning Channel.”
Ronin, just because the woman committed suicide does not mean that they are guilty. The woman lost a loved family member for heaven’s sake. That event probably placed a large burden on her and I wouldn’t be suprised if NG pushed her over the edge.
For the record, Nancy has a habit of latching on to people irrespective of guilt or innocence, remember the Duke Lacrosse incident
I am the eldest brother of Scott Amedure AKA The Jenny Jones Show murder victim.
As of 2009, as I understand it, there has been 8 deaths related to Talk Shows and or reality tv. I am on who has lived the after math of what can and does happen. It can impact a family and friends life significantly, and lasts for many years. Here I am about 15 years later, still broken from the events of all that had happened to Scott, my family and our friends after the murder, the 2 murder trials and the civil trial and the appeal process. To this day I still hear and see talk about it on local TV advertisements from Geoffrey Fieger’s law firm.
My family and I will never be the same after all that has happend and what we have been through. If I had the talent to write a book I would. People need to know just how dirty this business is…
Best regards,
Frank Amedure Jr.
Mr. Amedure, you have my condolences for the hideousness that befell you and your family. FWIW, many, MANY people believe that even if justice fails in this world, it won’t in the next.