OpEd Re: Ramsey Investigation

Boulder County District Attorney Mary T. Lacy directed the JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation into a new episode: John Mark Karr and the Keystone Cops. And the media deserve a best-supporting award. They were asleep at the reality switch when they could have looked critically at a case that lacked investigation or evidence.

From the time that officers of the Royal Thailand Police of Bangkok arrested Karr to Monday's official announcement that he was not the killer, his case has been a sorry example of how a prosecutor can be seduced by the media.

In murder investigations, no question should be left unexplored while investigators, in secret, do everything necessary to establish probable cause, make a clean arrest, and, hopefully, get a conviction.

Investigators and grand juries around the nation look into tens of thousands of persons each year in their quests to solve crimes. Often those being investigated will be found blameless, or their crimes cannot be proven. This is the reason why prosecutors don't confirm or deny an investigation, so the public will not know the identity of those investigated but not charged.

Lacy had an opportunity to downplay news of Karr's possible involvement in the 1996 murder of the 6-year-old beauty queen right after his arrest in Thailand. Instead, Lacy catered to the media by holding a nonsensical news conference in which she warned reporters not to convict Karr or jump to conclusions. She should have simply issued a one-paragraph statement noting that the Ramsey investigation has never been closed and her office continues to investigate all leads. Period.

In Bangkok, special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should not have given interviews about Karr and how he would be returned to the states. ICE also should have discouraged the Thais from holding their own news event.

The pressure to report in the 24/7 news cycle has turned news into a commodity, and everyone wants their share. News is served up via print, radio, television, cable TV, online, and cell phones, but well-researched news remains a prized product in limited supply.

What happened to critical thinking? Few if any reporters took a close look at the Karr case, yet there were indications early on that he could not have murdered Ramsey. Start with his own family saying he was with them in Georgia at the time of the murder. Of course, some actual investigation wouldn't have hurt the prosecutor either.

Is Karr attempting to pull off some kind of hoax? Did he manage to snag a free plane ride back home to work on it? According to Lacy, Karr has written a 153-page book that is copyrighted, and she hints its contents should be disclosed. Will Karr now try to get it published? Was this all a setup to win a book deal?

Karr's 98-page arrest warrant, unsealed late Monday, discloses his e-mail conversations about the murder with a college professor who eventually turned Karr over to authorities. The professor, Michael Tracey of the University of Colorado, has produced three documentaries on the Ramsey case. He was the perfect person for Karr to taunt and tease about the murder if he wanted attention.

Well, he certainly has our attention now, and is likely to keep it for some time, 24/7.

In theater we're told to suspend disbelief. In this case, you don't have to be asked. It's all unbelievable.