Television host Nancy Grace is again being sued this week over the latest example of her low-grade, gotcha programming. Grace is being sued by a man who she labeled the “selfie stalker” for allegedly taking a picture with a crime victim’s cellphone. The problem is that Ben Seibert is not a stalker and did not take such a picture with the phone. He was cleared of the allegations but that did not stop Grace from continuing to shred his reputation on-air. It is always shocking to see Grace appear not just on CNNHD but CNN generally. If, as the tagline reads, “this is CNN” it has truly experienced a fall from Grace.
The case brings back memories of the earlier lawsuit against Grace in the suicide of a young mother who was hounded by Grace who effectively declared her guilty of the murder of her own child. A Harvard professor has concluded that CNN Headline New’s rabid host, Nancy Grace, contributed to the death of a mother, Melinda Duckett, who committed suicide three years ago after being savaged by Grace.
Grace has made a career out of snarling and sensational segments on criminal stories. She was hired by CNN despite a very controversial career as a prosecutor during which courts repeatedly cited her for abusive or unethical conduct. For a prior column on prosecutorial abuse by Grace, click here. Any criticism of Fox by CNN is remarkably hypocritical in light of its long association with Grace.
In this case, Grace all but pronounced Melinda Duckett as involved in the disappearance of her 2-year-old son in 2006. In a signature segment, Grace virtually mocked Duckett’s claims of innocence. Duckett shot herself in the head the next day.
The family has sued Grace, here, and a Harvard clinical professor of psychiatry has written that the CNN interview inflicted public humiliation and was “a substantial contributing cause” of Duckett’s death.
The most recent lawsuit details the same signature sensationalism from Grace who told millions of viewers that Ben Seibert invaded a woman’s home and snapped a photo of himself on her phone, which she described as a “textbook serial killer’s calling card.” His photo was released by Denver Metro Crime Stoppers after a woman called police saying a man had entered her home while she was putting her children to bed. Police said she was especially fearful because she believed the man had taken a selfie with her phone inside her home. However, an investigation showed the picture was Seibert’s Facebook photo that had been taken elsewhere. Seibert quickly called police when friends saw the story and was cleared. Grace’s show was allegedly told that her broadcast was false, but she continued to air it. He is not seeking more than $100,000 in damages.
While we often joke about the antics of Grace like her attacking the weather or demanding to know who killed Whitney Houston, her rabid approach to legal cases is degrading not just for victims and defendants but our legal system as a whole. She uses people as props in her rather macabre night circus. Of course, there remains an element of people who love such displays like a WWF version of legal analysis. However, Grace conveys a consistent contempt for such principles as the presumption of innocence and due process. While it is clearly just entertainment, it is the safest form of entertainment. Nevertheless, CNN continues to air her show and even call upon her for legal analysis in high-profile cases. CNN continues to hold up Grace as a legal expert — a position that must be truly demeaning for the real legal analysts and journalists who work at Turner. Grace can claim the singular distinction of degrading two professions — the law and journalism — simultaneously. However, she could not succeed with such excess without the help of executives who are willing to trade integrity for ratings.
Source: NY Post
Nancy Grace just recently “settled” a lawsuit that Michael Skakel filed against her for making false a statement on her show. She stated his DNA was found
up in a tree at the scene of the crime. Not so.
The real press organizations actually exist and survive only with the protection of our Bill of Rights. Most (not all) seem to serve their corporate shareholders exclusively while gladly shredding the U.S. Constitution which allows them to exist.
This is a common pattern today from fellow journalists abandoning James Risen (being abused by the Espionage Act), attacking Edward Snowden, John Kiriakou being sent to prison and now Nancy Grace preaching unconstitutional practices like “guilty until proven innocent” and contempt for constitutional due process.
Edward R. Murrow, journalist, warned about this dereliction of duty by the press in the 1950’s during a similar era lacking press leadership.
This is more about CNN than Nancy Grace!
About abortion. There is so much discussion, how can anyone not understand birth control? Excepting children, rape, etc. Consensual sex by adults requires them to use a form of birth control. Teach that and lower our abortion numbers. Women hysterical about abortion, ROWE vs. WADE will not be overturned.
In general, most things are about money. Vietnam was about fear of communist expansion. The wars in the Middle East are decades of tribal fighting. Fortunately, our satellite provider is having a tiff with Turner and Teddy pulled CNN, so I never even surf by it, it’s wonderful!
Why does anyone go on Nancy Grace’s show? Her demeanor is so angry. However, as William F. Buckley said “for people who like that sort of thing, that’s the sort of thing they like.”
doglover–It’s not just the people mentioned and “the entire FOX News,” as you claim. The ENTIRE CNN network, ALL of MSNBC, CNBC, etc are all in it for the entertainment value. What amazes me is that we all continue to watch these crazy programs. Who’s are the fools, them or us?
When compared to Alvis Dershowitz, Nancy is a credit to the law profession. The fact that all of liberal Hollywood makes fun of her, makes me think she’s not all bad.
Pogo, Unfortunately, that’s the way it seems to work.
I call her Nancy disGrace…
Rather convenient, isn’t it?
The media can call you a ‘public figure’ and destroy you, even if you never were a public figure before their attack.
By that measure, who isn’t a public figure?
As soon as your name comes up for any reason, you are one.
Once he was accused, he became a public figure. As long as Nancy Grace did not purposely set out to make false statements about him, she can get away with it. -Need proof…just look at Gorge Zimmerman. He has been acquitted, but that won’t stop the dogs from continuing to take a bite.
The way Nancy Grace pounces on sexual abuse cases I’m fairly certain she was a victim as a child. That’s a lotta baggage. But, to victimize others because you’ve been a victim shows complete narcissistic personality disorder.
Nancy Grace has padded her resume and just out and out lied about her education and experience. How can anyone believe ANYTHING she says. She has those spooky eyes. The eyes tell me almost everything when I’m getting a read on a person.
When Grace goes on one of her crusades, she’s one of the worst stalkers around.
Darren, Unfortunately we have a lot of people like that. I still remember when John Walsh told the fiancé of a suspect on Larry King Live that she should just get over his death as he was a criminal anyway. Her fiancé was wrongly accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart and ended up having a brain hemorrhage in jail from high blood pressure, that according to her was related to the stress he was under for being the suspect. I was hoping that Larry King would say something to counter that totally insensitive comment from Walsh, but of course he did not say anything. Most likely he would have gone to play golf afterwards. Lot of people I guess are into “I think therefore I am” and have forgotten that “I feel therefore I am” too.
Observer. The video you supplied reminded me of seeing the reporter during the winter Olympics who pushed the skier to tears over his deceased brother. Sometimes these reporters cannot divorce themselves from making these emotional topics such a part of their reporting. It is both insensitive and demeaning to the interviewee.
Ms. Grace is missing a three-letter prefix for her last name.
I imagine the commercials buffering this allegedly libelous broadcast segment generated more revenue than the lawsuit demands. CNN can drag it out for several years to keep it out of the limelight and bring the plaintiff through a long legal ordeal where they ultimately accept no blame and then claim they settled because of legal expenses. She is not what I would consider to be credit to either professions.
Nancy Disgrace.