The media having already scorched the earth before any arrest was made, is now quickly shifting gears to focus on the new suspect. How would you try to maintain the case for a fair trial in Colorado?

Well, isn't the threshold question whether or not the venire has developed an opinion of his guilt? I'm sure they could find 12 fair jurors in the state to sit on this jury.

I just feel sorry for the child's parents. What a media nightmare THEY have been through. I know this investigation led to a new DA and if I recall correctly, some new police officers.

Does anyone know what "unrelated" offense this pedophile was being held on in Thailand? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what the possibilities are...

What I meant to ask, from the prosecutor's point of view, is, "What could a Colorado DA do at this point to prevent or mitigate the media tsunami that is coming?"

Aw, Gee, don't you know the First Amendment right to sell newspapers is far, far more important than a defendant's Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights? Who needs to prosecute the poor fellow if he has been excoriated on the Today show by Barry Scheck? Gosh doggit, the PUBLIC HAS A RIGHT TO HANG THIS GUY ON PAPER, TV, AND THE BLOGOSPHERE, and us lawyers are just getting in the way.

I'm waiting to see if any media sources editorialize on their own misbehavior in pointing the media finger of blame at all sorts of suspects, including the Bonet family, before an arrest or trial took place. Seems to me all those same media outlets have rather quickly pointed their spotlights on the latest tidbits without any introspection on their previous mistakes.

It would restore some credibility to the media after they vilified the poor family of Bonet if they made some sort of public apology. I won't hold my breath for that...

And I can't see anything a colorado da could do, absent a gag order, which I would apply for now, or as soon as the case is indicted.

Here's how CNN put it:

The arrest likely will dispel the cloud of suspicion that has hung over JonBenet's parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, ever since the girl's death on December 26, 1996.

The Church of Free Press is far more misleading than any other religion in history.

Alas, Patsy Ramsey died earlier this summer, so any vindication for her comes too little, too late. The love we're supposed to have for our free press means they never have to say "I'm sorry."

Some of the buzz on the early shows seem to think that Mrs. Ramsey might have known about the investigation into this pee-wee herman look alike over in Thailand. They made it sound like the family might have known ahead of time.

JMH,

John Ramsey's statement said that he and Patsy had been approached by the Boulder DA prior to Patsy's death in June about the investigation and impending arrest. So yes, she was aware that it was coming soon. It's too bad she didn't live to be vindicated in the media, since she was certainly tried and convicted by it.

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Originally posted by John Bradley:
I'm waiting to see if any media sources editorialize on their own misbehavior in pointing the media finger of blame at all sorts of suspects, including the Bonet family, before an arrest or trial took place. Seems to me all those same media outlets have rather quickly pointed their spotlights on the latest tidbits without any introspection on their previous mistakes.

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Don't worry, John; I'm sure the more morally upright newspapers will print an apology the same place they put their corrections. You know, page A17, bottom right-hand side, squeezed between the shoe sale advertisement and the short wire article "Health Tip: Experts say wash your hands."

Or at least that's where their mea culpa to Richard Jewell ran a decade ago.

this was how jonbenet's father ended his statement:

"Words cannot adequately express my gratitude for the efforts of Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy and the members of her investigative team."

after all this, for him to still have some faith in the justice system is truly remarkable. i hope the prosecutors are successful. it would be a wonderful testament to the dedication often demonstrated by prosecutors and not often praised by the media.

As I recall, the Ramesy's acted very suspeciously for a couple who's daughter had just been murdered. Didn't they hire an atty. and stopped cooperating with police very, very early on in the investigation? Also, didn't Mr. Ramsey find JonBenet's body in the cellar, after the police had searched and failed to find it? As I remember they were pretty hostile to police even before anyone was pointing a finger at them.

Don't get to enthused about the final ending of this case. The alleged perp confessed, but he confessed to drugging and raping JonBenet Ramsey. Testing showed no drugs in her system and only a very small tear in the vagina and no semen on the body. The wife of the defendant has also said that the defendant was with her in Georgia when the murder was supposed to have happened.

I don't know Colorado law, but I assume they have to be able to coroborate his confession. Sounds like the fight has just begun and I can hear a defense lawyer's claims now:

"This poor man was tortured for hours by those godless Turks. We all know how they torture people over there. By the time the American Law Enforcement people got there, he had already been ....."

And if the confession is out, does that mean that any DNA testing of the defendant is out, too?

Don't get me wrong. I hope the confession holds if it is true and I hope the scumbag goes away for a long long time. I also hope the case hasn't been screwed up even further.

the statement could have gone the other way, and that's what makes me happy.

that said, i too hope the case hasn't been screwed up. the guy does look perfectly cast as a pedophile. really, who didn't have an "ah-ha" moment (not the Norwegian band) when they read that this guy linked to the murder/sexual assault of jonbenet ramsey was teaching 2nd grade in bangkok?

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Originally posted by Terry Breen:
As I recall, the Ramesy's acted very suspeciously for a couple who's daughter had just been murdered. Didn't they hire an atty. and stopped cooperating with police very, very early on in the investigation? Also, didn't Mr. Ramsey find JonBenet's body in the cellar, after the police had searched and failed to find it? As I remember they were pretty hostile to police even before anyone was pointing a finger at them.

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I would hire the finest and loudest lawyer I could find if falsely accused. And after I had been cleared by a poly and dna, I would be hesitant to still cooperate after a couple of renegade police detectives were still trying to frame me. As I recall, it was a female detective who was totally convinced that, despite the paucity of evidence against the parents, that they did it. The detective made the rounds of morning news tv years ago.

As I recall, the da who handled the case initially was removed by the voters from office. This case WAS the campaign issue. The DA now handling the case took office in 2001.

If there is dna evidence, that is the case. I'd also be asking questions about why the defendant was also so obsessed with the Polly Klaus murder in Petaluma, Ca. Although the defendant worked and lived there long after Polly's murder, it kinda makes you wonder, don't it?

The articles in the Statesman today detail the history of a man who has been on the run since 2001, when charged with possession of child porn, and who placed himself in situations throughout the world teaching and "nannying" small children.

I hope some investigator is locating and calling those parents and arranging for medical evals and examinations by qualified child interviewers.

I don't know whether the authorities can corroborate his confession or not but it seems to me that a false confession to one of the U.S.A.'s most publicized cases would equal a quick trip home and release from a Thai jail. He can always fight the confession once he is in the States.

I agree with Jay. It's a little odd that he picked this time to confess (10 years). I don't know what his "unrelated sex offense" in Thailand is, but from what I know of that country it wasn't just weenie waggin'. Whole lot rather be in the American system or prison.

If I was falsely accused of murder, I would tell the cops every thing I know. The greatest protection from a false charge is not a defense atty., it's good police work. And good police work requires good information.

Off hand, I can only think of one suspect that I worked with who "took the 5th" and was actually innocent. He was hardly "innocent" in the larger meaning of that word, because he was a long time criminal, who was just suspecious of everybody.

I think everyone is well aware that the innocent are eager to talk to police, especially when a loved one is murdered, and the Ramsey's lack of cooperation made them suspecious.

Terry, you are assuming that the police were truly trying to solve the case. As Greg pointed out, most of the law enforcement involved didn't appear to care what evidence there was. They just wanted to get the Ramseys. In that situation, when authority figures are focused on you and are just waiting for you to sneeze in the wrong way, a good lawyer makes great sense.