spendy spitball sessions

There are some crimes that have benefited from true crime enthusiast research and internet forum discussions, but this would be the exception, not the rule. So far as these somewhat downright nasty discussions can go, these often slanderous or ugly discussions between armchair detectives may be just one of the prices that victims families pay while searching for or waiting for justice for their children, as in the case of adorable little Kyron Horman.

How much does this social phenom hurt an investigation?
That is yet to be fully articulated and monetized, but there is a cost to investigations for good or ill. We can recall that obsessed armchair detective pedophile who convinced himself he was JonBenet's killer, costing tax payers tens of thousands of dollars and law enforcement man-hours. Much of the content of that pitiful character's false confession and writings can easily be tracked to (bogus) public domain information he would have found in media articles and interaction on internet forums - -

Armchair detectives:
True-crime websites are nonstop outlets for facts and opinions on Kyron Horman case
Published in The Oregonian
By Kimberly A.C. Wilson

"When word broke Thursday that authorities were putting the squeeze on DeDe Spicher...In real time, members of true crime Internet forums around the country began searching for the woman's footprint in the public domain.

What happened to little Kyron? And the hobbyists' work raises a larger question: Has it helped or hindered the real police work?

That depends on whom you ask. And entering the eighth week since Kyron was seen, it may not even be a fair question.

Or even the right question...

Court of public opinion

Trying to make sense of the morass is nothing new for veterans of unresolved mysteries, including the 1997 death of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey in Colorado...the late Richard Jewell, the security guard at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics whose journey from hero to bombing suspect ...The Justice Department formally cleared Jewell of involvement in the bombing, and another man, Eric R. Rudolph, was eventually convicted of the explosion that killed one and injured 111 others. But Jewell, who died of natural causes in 2007, went down as the man wronged by hasty judgment.

And the blogosphere is nothing if not a watering hole for hasty judges..."[read more]

hardwoods

I am guessing the apology speech from Tiger Woods hasn't exactly been well received. I saw just a brief glimpse of Woods' press conference yesterday, Woods' stressing that any issues he may have are a family matter then requesting that the media leave his relatives, including the little children, alone. And I would agree that is about all, if anything, needs to be said --

Lawyer Calls Woods’s Remarks Counterproductive
Published in the New York Times
By STUART ELLIOTT

"One of the harshest critics of Tiger Woods’s remarks on Friday morning is L. Lin Wood, a lawyer with Bryan Cave Powell Goldstein...

Mr. Wood’s conclusion about Mr. Woods: “I am not sure what purpose was served by Tiger’s statement today. He would have been better off maintaining his silence.”

Mr. Wood, based in Atlanta, often represents people who, as Clark Hoyt, the public editor of The New York Times, put it in an article in 2008, “were dragged through the news but never charged.” Among them were the parents of JonBenet Ramsey; Gary Condit, the former congressman; and Richard Jewell, wrongly accused of the Summer Olympics bombing in 1996."[...read more]

more wood on woods

Lin Wood, the brilliant and highly regarded attorney that represents the Ramseys against false accusations made about family members in reference to the murder of JonBenet, weighs in on Tiger Woods public relations nightmare - -

Woods Must Protect Privacy

by By Lin Wood, Esq

"I believe a lawyer has a duty to advocate for a client in a court of law and in the court of public opinion.

I have long been an advocate for several high-profile clients over the years who found their reputations under attack in the court of public opinion by members of the media or "talking heads" who use the media as a forum to publish accusations or express opinions based on incorrect information, incomplete information or too often, no information at all.

These clients include Richard Jewell, falsely accused in the Olympic bombing, John and Patsy Ramsey, falsely accused in connection with the brutal murder of their six-year old daughter, JonBenet, and the victim in the Kobe Bryant case whose privacy was invaded and whose reputation threatened...My advice remains consistent, keep private matters private" [...read more]