Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/11/21/nancygrace.sued/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/11 /21/nancygrace.sued/index.html</a> This ought to be interesting. I was not aware that Grace's interview with this woman was not aired until after she killed herself. I thought it aired, then she did it. While they might have a tough time proving a causal link, this might go a long way towards neutering people like Nancy Grace.
Originally Posted By mele I happened to catch that particular show (I'm not sure how since I don't watch Nancy Grace). It was really awful. She was horrible to that woman, definitely implying she was lying and being secretive of her actions. Disgusting.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh I haven't personally experienced Nancy Grace. The closest I've come is watching the Nancy Grace-like character on Boston Legal. But I've heard plenty of unfavorable things about her, and I tend to believe them. That said, I don't think Nancy Grace is responsible for this woman commiting suicide. It sounds like the woman had issues.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>I haven't personally experienced Nancy Grace.<< You're lucky. She really is as bad as people have probably told you. Rather clumsy as a broadcaster, and her for-the-cameras hyperbole at times makes Geraldo seem restrained by comparisson.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer I used to tune in to Headline News to check to see what was going on. Then they started to have something other than their 30 minute news cycle in prime time. I stumbled across the shrill harpie twice, realized that Headline News was no longer just broadcasting the news, and haven't been back since. She is that offensive.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Stephen King wrote a piece in Entertainment Weekly a couple months ago about this incident. <a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0" target="_blank">http://www.ew.com/ew/article/c ommentary/0</a>,6115,1540592_3%7C%7C472578%7C0_0_,00.html
Originally Posted By ecdc I absolutely think Nancy Grace should be held civily liable for this woman's death. If someone is emotionally unstable due to extreme circumstances (say, their child is missing) and someone puts them under duress and they react like this, they have to answer for it. I genuinely can't think of anyone I loathe more than Nancy Grace.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 She is loathesome indeed, and while I have no idea if she should be held criminally liable (I'm not that familiar with this particular case), I like the idea that this suit might make her and others of her ilk think twice before indulging in what can only be described as cruelty.
Originally Posted By jonvn She won't be held liable, and neither will CNN. And she'll go on being a vile human being until the day she dies. And CNN will do their best to make money off her.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I wonder if this might be related, in a legal sense, to the Jenny Jones talk show lawsuit from several years ago? The Jones show 'surprised' one fellow with a secret admirer/potential love interest who turned out to be a male co-worker or neighbor or something. The admiree didn't take it well at all, and wound up killing his admirer, and later sued the show for millions of dollars and won. I'm sure there are differences between the two -- the Jones show created the situation while Grace exploited a tragedy -- but perhaps it isn't so far-fetched that she might not skate through this trial.
Originally Posted By ecdc ^^^^^Exactly. I don't think Grace could be held criminally liable. But play a few hours of clips from her show then show crime scene photos of Melinda Dunkett's body after she shot herself to death and a jury of her peers might realize that Nancy Grace isn't a peer at all, but a sewer rat. They might make Grace (and CNN) pay. I'd love the implications for her and those like her.
Originally Posted By jonvn I would too. I just don't see it as happening. They'll spend money on a lawsuit at least. A drop in the bucket, though.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh I don't want this to sound like I'm approving of Nancy Grace's behavior, but it's possible that Melinda Dunkett killed herself because she was guilty of the things Ms Grace accused her of. If so, I can't see how a jury would find Ms Grace liable.
Originally Posted By mele Of course, that is a possibility, too. I doubt I would ever blame someone for the actions of someone else. Morally speaking, you might be able to find that someone contributed to another's suicide but legally you really cannot. We're all responsible for our own actions. I can only imagine my mental state if one of my children was missing. I am always very suspicious of parents when children go missing but I don't think I would attack them as Grace did. (Boy, is "Grace" a horrible name for her, or what?) They haven't found Dunkett's son yet, have they?
Originally Posted By mele Plus, wouldn't a professional (prosecutor or cop) know that you don't push a suspect so far that they can never give you the information you need to find a missing person? Isn't it an art to question a suspect? Grace didn't really show the restraint needed in this case. We might never know what happened to that little boy.
Originally Posted By ecdc "I don't want this to sound like I'm approving of Nancy Grace's behavior, but it's possible that Melinda Dunkett killed herself because she was guilty of the things Ms Grace accused her of. If so, I can't see how a jury would find Ms Grace liable." It's definitely possible - and the police involved in the investigation say it's probable - but I still wonder if the family could hold her liable. If Melinda Dunkett did kill her little boy, then killed herself after appearing on Nancy Grace, the family is left never knowing what happened to the boy. Nancy Grace didn't pull the trigger - we all recognize that. But she took advantage in the worst possible way of an emotionally unstable woman; whether she was unstable because her son was missing or because she killed him may never be known now. But Nancy Grace should be held accountable because she finally got the kind of "justice" she calls for on her show every night. She appears to not believe at all in being innocent until proven guilty.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh I'm not sure you can hold someone "accountable" for being obnoxious. I doubt anyone forced this woman into appearing on Nancy Grace's show.
Originally Posted By Altadisdude >>I'm not sure you can hold someone "accountable" for being obnoxious. I doubt anyone forced this woman into appearing on Nancy Grace's show.<< Well like previously stated Jenny Jones was held accountable for causing a homophobic man to kill his gay coworker whom she revealed had a crush on him. He wasn't even humiliated on TV as the show never aired. I think this case will rest on jury selection and on how much the defense smear the mother. The defense will say she did it because she was guilty and the lawyers for the family will say she committed suicide because Nancy Grace publicly humiliated her and made the grief unbearable to live with. Bottom line for me though is that this woman had some serious mental issues. Nancy Grace didn't make her suicidal, but she may set her off. I'm not sure you can hold her accountable for "setting her off."(well could is always possible, but should is another question) For example my younger brother attempted to kill himself. He told his girlfriend that if she ever left him he would kill himself. Knowing this she called him up and said, "I can't be with you because you have mental issues and I don't want our unborn child around that. Were through" He then took his insulin(Type 1 diabetic) and injected a whole syringe into his arm. Many people knew he was unstable, including my parents, so it wasn't an issue of warning someone of his intentions. Would it be fair to say, that if my brother has succeeded in killing himself, it was his girlfriends fault?
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh <Well like previously stated Jenny Jones was held accountable for causing a homophobic man to kill his gay coworker whom she revealed had a crush on him.> Actually, the decision was overturned on appeal. But there the show deceived the plaintiff into appearing on the show. There's no indication that that happened here. <He wasn't even humiliated on TV as the show never aired.> From what I've read, that's the case here. Or at least the woman killed herself before the show aired. <Would it be fair to say, that if my brother has succeeded in killing himself, it was his girlfriends fault?> No.
