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Title: The Death of Innocence : The Untold Story of JonBenet's Murder and How Its Exploitation Compromised the Pursuit of Truth by John Ramsey, Patsy Ramsey ISBN: 0-7852-6816-2 Publisher: Thomas Nelson Pub. Date: 17 March, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.68 (157 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Mostly an exercise in public relations
Comment: Don't read this looking for slip ups or unconscious revelations about the role of the Ramseys in the death of their daughter. This is a closely edited, legally observed, and unabashedly self-serving book. (I'd love to see what was edited out.) Yet, between the lines we can catch a glimpse or two about who the Ramseys really are and what they are about and what they believe.
This is a well written and very well edited exercise featuring a centerfold of family portraits, including several modest shots of JonBenét. The Ramseys give a close rendering of the events of Christmas day, 1996, and the next morning. The story of Patsy's successful fight against cancer is told in some detail, and the beauty pageant issue is addressed. The book ends with John Ramsey's profile of the murderer and a chapter of advice on how to protect your children. There is no index.
Throughout, the Ramseys tell their story in the first person in alternating sections. First John speaks and then Patsy, and then John again, and so on. What they are intent on demonstrating is their innocence. They try to accomplish this by convincing the reader of their abiding love for JonBenét and for God, and their adherence to the Christian faith. Both seem to have a special relationship with God that allows them to hear his voice. John writes "there's a point where...you know and understand the truth of what God has done through human history and you grasp his plan for the future through his son, Jesus Christ" (p. 72).
Patsy in particular has felt the "divine intervention" in her life on many occasions, particularly in her successful battle against cancer (p. 77), but also when her cable TV line was accidentally cut, thereby preventing her from hearing the lies about her on television (p. 230). She has received messages from God (e.g., on pages 82 & 243). In fact in several spots Patsy seems to liken her experience to that of Jesus. As she was watching the "Geraldo Rivera Show" on October 22, 1997, for example, she heard voices calling for the crucifixion of herself and her husband (p. 229). And as Christmas, 1997 approached, her faith, like that of Jesus, was sorely tested, and she found herself "mad at God" and screamed, "I hate Christmas!" But there came a "stillness at the center of" her "being" and she "received a message from God" telling her that she more than anyone needed Christmas, and her faith was restored.
Even in day to day activities, Patsy found herself calling on God to guide her and he did. For example, before picking up the phone to insinuate herself into the Princess Di media discussion she was watching on Larry King Live, Patsy told her mother, "I'm praying that God will give me the right words." After being on hold for a while, "suddenly" she was "talking on live television, launching...into an attack on Larry King..." (p. 210). She relates on the next page that she was so successful that Larry King called to thank her and to ask her to appear on his show.
Almost as annoying as this "holier than thou" posturing was the Ramsey's unrelenting attack on the media and the Boulder police as the cause of all their troubles. I thought it was significant that they blamed the police leadership more than they blamed the officers who had so compromised the crime scene (p. 178). I also thought it telling that John Ramsey in particular tried to tie the crime to "how transient" their "University Hill neighborhood really was," and to people who "pushed New Age experiences" (p. 204). In Lawrence Schiller's book, he is quoted as saying that Bill McReynolds ("Santa Claus") should be a suspect partly because "he doesn't have two nickels to rub together." This high-handed and snide tone, I believe is as much responsible for the public's suspicion of the Ramseys as anything else.
Nonetheless, after reading three books on the subject, I am forced to say that I don't think there's enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they are responsible for their daughter's death. I think the Boulder District Attorney's office and the Grand Jury are to be commended for not charging the Ramseys with a crime they could not prove. Whether this book will help their public image is another matter.
Rating: 4
Summary: What if?
Comment: Someone saw me reading this book and couldn't believe that I had actually paid money for it. When I explained that it told another side to the story, that person rolled his eyes and said, "So now you think they're innocent?" How sad that the media has convicted these people without the benefit of a trial. Even the grand jury refused to bring them to trial citing 'lack of evidence.' Our guarantee of being innocent until proven guilty is quickly going by the wayside. More than anything, I was appalled at the conduct of the Boulder Police Dept. Our television stations come from Denver and I recall very clearly the "leaks" and the BPD's battles with the D.A.'s office as well as the information released that would later be proven inaccurate. What if this had been a top-notch murder investigation instead of the fiasco that it became? I salute the family and friends who stood by the Ramsey's and did not sell their souls to the tabloids. The book explained a great deal although some questions still remain. The ransom note is really a weird piece to this puzzle. Without that, I doubt the parents would ever have been accused. I'm not satisfied with any explanations of the note. Also, I was hoping that the information that Burke's voice was actually heard in the background on the 911 call that Patsy initially made (after it had been sent off to some labratory)would be addressed in the book, but it was not. The Ramsey's did a good job of explaining some of their actions that seemed inappropriate at the time. I wonder how many of us could have endured what they had to endure for as long as they did. If your mind is made up, you probably won't enjoy this book at all. But if you read it with an open mind, you might be able to say, "What if they've been innocent all along?"
Rating: 3
Summary: Did they 'clear their name'?
Comment: The fact that this widely publicized case has gone unsolved for 7 years is so pathetic it's intolerable. However, as much as I'd love to believe these parents are innocent, it's hard to believe they don't have some knowledge/involvement that they are just not sharing.
Also, the theory that they're innocent b/c they haven't been arrested is drivel. Steve Thomas states in his book 'JonBenet' that only 2 homicide cases have seen the inside of a courtroom in 7 years!!!
The Ramseys are not helping their case by trying to appear as victims. I don't know if they did it or not and it isn't my place to judge, but how is it that God delivered Patsy from her cancer with a 'miracle cure' (which I can believe can happen) yet He has not delivered them from their miserable life of constant criticism?
Although parents have to be examined first in a child homicide, the Ramseys have taken it too far. They have NOT cooperated with the police. If they need to convince ANYONE of their innocence, it is the BPD, not the American public.
They are not following up on important leads and aren't expressing a ton of concern about info providing insight into this case. They say a dozen times that they don't know what came of this lead or that lead." HOW ABOUT LOOKING INTO IT???
Their passive, ridiculous, evasive behavior is infuriating. If they didn't do this, then they're guilty of not doing all they can to find the killer. Cold cases are solved all the time, and the Ramseys are making sure this one slows to a crawl b/c of their pride and selfishness...and potential guilt?
I don't want to think this about them, but the fact is, we haven't seen an unsolved case like this in ages, where the parents don't seem to give a darn what comes of the investigation. I think the Ramseys have a negative cast to them for a reason.
I don't want to hear about their lives and how they're coping. I want to hear about what they're doing to solve the murder of that beautiful and innocent child.
It's important to remember something: they can love JonBenet and miss her terribly, but that does NOT mean that they aren't responsible for her death. If they aren't, they are being irresponsible for not helping to bring her some justice. I do not believe these parents are doing all they can to find the assailant.
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Title: Perfect Murder, Perfect Town : The Uncensored Story of the JonBenet Murder and the Grand Jury's Search for the Final Truth by Lawrence Schiller ISBN: 0061096962 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 November, 1999 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: JonBenet by Steve Thomas, Don Davis ISBN: 0312978618 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Who Killed Jonbenet Ramsey?: A Leading Forensic Expert Uncovers the Shocking Facts (Onyx True Crime, Je 871) by Cyril H. Wecht, Charles, Jr. Bosworth ISBN: 0451408713 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: July, 1998 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Presumed Guilty: An Investigation into the Jonbenet Ramsey Case, the Media, and the Culture of Pornography by Stephen Singular ISBN: 1893224007 Publisher: New Millenium Pr Pub. Date: July, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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