what she revealed about us

Dr. Sam Smith wrote of JonBenet's case and what it says about America--
"Few events in recent memory have inflamed the American imagination quite like the murder of JonBenet Ramsey...We hope you’ll join us for a fascinating look into what one sensationalized murder case reveals about the darkest heart of America, circa 2008."

From Christmas to August
by Michael Tracey

FOR PATSY RAMSEY, SHERRY KEENE-OSBORNE, and BARB SMITH

Courageous and Good Ladies All

In late 2006 Professor Michael Murray, of the University of Illinois, asked me to contribute a chapter for a book he is editing on crime and the media. It would be an account of a curious, singular event I happened to get caught up in, an event that in a sense began in 1997, but took an unfortunate turn in 2006. Writing it, he suggested, might even be therapeutic. He was correct. But as I started to write it almost inevitably grew, moving in various directions, as the narrative which I initially wrote raised questions that begged explanation....