Nancy Grace Sued Over Woman's Suicide

By Jeralyn, Section
Posted on Tue Nov 21, 2006 at 11:37:50 AM EST
Tags: (all tags)

Share This: Digg!

The family of Melissa Duckett, who killed herself the day after being "aggressively questioned" (to put it politely) by Nancy Grace on her cable tv show has sued her.

Jay Paul Deratany, the attorney representing Duckett's estate, said Tuesday that Grace encouraged Duckett to appear on her show by saying the goal was to draw public attention to help find Trenton.

"It's not just about the questioning, it's about the misrepresentation with the knowledge that she was emotionally distraught," Deratany said. The attorney said Grace improperly took on the role of a law enforcement officer.

I'd bet a year from now the case will settle with CNN, not Nancy, paying the tab. In the meantime, the publicity probably will result in higher ratings for her show which in turn will bump the ad rates which will mean more money for the network. I doubt she'll change her style.

The "fry them, don't try them" mentality is still a winner with the public.

< Calif. Court Rules Bloggers Can't be Sued for Third Party Postings | Court Tosses Las Vegas Ban on Feeding Homeless >

Legal

Nothing on this site should be construed as legal advice. TalkLeft does not give legal advice.

TalkLeft is not responsible for and often disagrees with material posted in the comments section. Read at your own risk.

Nancy Grace Sued Over Woman's Suicide | 7 comments (7 topical)

Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

you failed to note.................. (none / 0) (#1)
by cpinva on Tue Nov 21, 2006 at 12:08:00 PM EST

that the police consider ms. duckett the prime suspect, in her son's disappearance. not that this makes ms. grace's performance the less repulsive, it doesn't. however, for purposes of full disclosure, you should have included that.

one other interesting note: the police say they also think the child is still alive, though they didn't elaborate on why. this causes me to suspect it to be a "family" affair as well.

hopefully, the boy will be recovered safe and sound, no thanks to ms. grace.

: Not at the time of the suicide (none / 0) (#2)
by Jeralyn on Tue Nov 21, 2006 at 12:09:47 PM EST

She wasn't named as a suspect at the time of the show or the suicide. She was only a "person of interest."

: If thats true (none / 0) (#5)
by Jen M on Wed Nov 22, 2006 at 06:20:08 AM EST

Then Nancy Grace did the police no favors. She pretty much interfered. Now their suspect is dead and not very informative.

Prime suspect? (none / 0) (#3)
by 1980Ford on Tue Nov 21, 2006 at 12:38:18 PM EST

Or maybe the police did Ms. Grace a favor by naming Duckett the prime suspect. If they now think the child was alive, what was she suspected of? Murder was the implication as Grace was implying during her grilling. The police need Grace and CNN and the other media outlets to 1) help during Amber Alerts, and this is good, 2) keep the pro-police PR machine in full force. They would name Duckett the prime suspect as a debt of gratitude. Hopefully any facts on this will come out during the civil trial and we will know one way or the other.

This is just sad!! (none / 0) (#4)
by plumberboy on Tue Nov 21, 2006 at 03:29:16 PM EST

I saw some of the clips of Nancy Grace attacking this woman and even after her suicide.This woman was extermely ill and needed help not the abusive badgering of a news person trying to increase her ratings.I think Nancy Grace should be held accountable as a supposed news professional she should have been a little more cautious.I hope her ratings fall to all time lows just so she gets the message of how distatseful this was!This little boy may be alive, if he is Nancy Grace is a big part of the reason he will grow up without a mother.This woman could've been helped and her life and family restored who knows the point is people of influence need to be cautious and responsible with there power and influence.

Nancy Grace lawsuit (none / 0) (#6)
by dhoward on Sat Nov 25, 2006 at 03:08:42 AM EST

I am not a Nancy Grace fan, but come on people. The litigation filed against her is ridiculous. Attorney Jay Deratany is suing not only Ms. Grace but the father of Trenton Duckett, Joshua Duckett. Joshua was was in the process of trying to get custody of his son as he knew Melinda posed a threat to the baby. On the other hand Melinda's parents never met baby Trenton or Joshua Duckett. Melinda's parents did not go to Florida when the child went missing nor did they attempt to help find the baby. Nancy Grace simply asked the questions that any good journalist would ask. The blame game is getting old. Joshua Duckett is going through a living hell with his son missing and being sued by Melinda's parents is outragous. Melinda Duckett through Trenton's belongings away almost immediately after her son went missing. She was about as good of mother to her son as her mother was to her. The apple doesn't fall to far from the tree. The only person responsible for Melinda's death is Melinda. The world is praying for you and your precious baby Joshua.

Blaming the victim (none / 0) (#7)
by altfg on Sat Nov 25, 2006 at 03:27:33 AM EST

To refer to Nancy Grace as a "journalist" is to denigrate the profession.
Her questioning -- the little I've seen of it -- is sensational and irresponsible. (CNN, in fact, is now no better than Fox.)
Also, to blame a clearly unbalanced woman for her suicide is unfair. Who is to say that this woman who killed herself was actually "mentally capable" at the time she committed the act?
As for "the world" praying for her and her baby -- I don't know. I think the few people the world over who care about others are probably much too busy praying -- to whatever gods or goddesses or witches they believe in -- for the thousands of slaughtered men, women, and children in Iraq or Sudan. Not to mention the nameless, faceless millions who die of starvation, diarrhea, AIDS, etc. and that never become celebrities -- and who are thus unworthy of blog debates -- because CNN or Fox or any of the U.S. news media won't pay any attention to them.