"Up the close and down the stair,
In the house with Burke and Hare.
Burke’s the butcher, Hare’s the thief
Knox, the man who buys the beef."
--An Edinburgh children's song about Burke and Hare,
both 19th century grave robbers, murderers,
and all around exploiters of the dead.
Pinellas County, Florida--It's all about money, not about the truth, but the press are expending more effort on obtaining access to 288 death photos of Jeane Palfrey than they ever were at getting to the bottom of her story when she was alive. That's what they do.
Additionally, you have various "players" like former counsel Montgomery Blair Sibley, Preston Burton and Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe [Ed., 08.29.2008--In the spirit of fairness, it should be conveyed that counsel Sibley has written to myself via e-mail that the photos will not be published and that he's only looking to confirm the cause of death.], and bottom feeders like Alex Jones and Jeff Rense who are jockeying for a view of the goods. They don't care how they affect the 76-year-old mother of the deceased. What you have are a lot of agendas, and as Jean Renoir and Alexander Sesonske wrote in the screenplay for "Rules of the Game," "people have their reasons. They sure do.
There are no words for the craven attitudes of these people who had no genuine respect or concern for this late, troubled woman. They forgot their and her humanity a long time ago. Today, they caused the woman who gave birth to Palfrey to break down emotionally:
"This is the last thing I can do for my daughter," Palfrey said. "Please don't let these pictures get out in public."
News organizations have asked under Florida's public records law to inspect the photographs, a request opposed by Palfrey as a violation of her privacy. She filed a lawsuit against Tarpon Springs to prevent release of the photos.
Circuit Judge Linda R. Allen declared a break just before 11:30 a.m. so she could review the 288 photos in private.
The photos would not be released until after the investigation of the death. (" 'DC Madam's' Mom Breaks Down During Suicide Photo Hearing," The Suncoast News, 08.15.2008)
We might have a decision later today. My feelings are that they will be released to very hungry media and lawyers, and a gaggle of other opportunists who never cared to help Palfrey in any substantial sense. I lay no claim to a right to see these photographs, and would prefer not to ever see them.
It doesn't strike me that they'll offer anything new to the record or any understanding. What they will offer is the opportunity for those with book deals to have some nifty images for their tomes, and Blanche will just have to "accept" it "in the service of the truth." But the truth isn't what they're interested in, just the aforementioned money. Then, there are other issues at-play.
It was known by a number of individuals that Palfrey was threatening suicide during her proceedings, and nothing appears to have been done about it. This, then, could be one of the reasons Judge Gladys Kessler was removed from the case. If the judiciary knew of Palfrey's suicidal tendencies, they didn't act on it and never ordered a competency evaluation to see if she really was fit to stand trial. Various counsel at all points in the proceedings might have considered calling for one as well. Also, sources are saying that Blanche Palfrey is becoming "forgetful," which raises a number of legal issues regarding the Estate of Jeane Palfrey if it's true.
At-minimum, if the judges and the Justice Department knew about it, you have an incredible example of gross negligence. There was no call for a competency evaluation. A number of sealed records generated during pretrial legal proceedings could clarify this. The issue of competency over-complicates an already complex case, and it wasn't merely Palfrey who dragged-out her legal ordeal. She had a lot of help along the way from counsel and the prosecution.
Now, some of them outside of the prosecution (primarily in the media) want to continue exploiting Palfrey, even in death. What do you call exploiting the troubled life of a dead woman who might have been mentally unbalanced?
It can't be good, so let's call it "paying the mortgage" or the "bills." Granted that it's usually to pay for future investigations, but then, there's that lifestyle to pay for, or the fact that the bathroom needs retiling.
This writer wishes author William Keisling all the best of luck in his association with Montgomery Blair Sibley [Ed., 08.29.2008--They might both need that luck.]. He's going to need it. Burke's the butcher, and Hare's thief, and the publishers (and the public) are the ones who will buy the beef.
Revised, with comments, 08.29.2008
" 'DC Madam's' Mom Breaks Down During Suicide Photo Hearing," The Suncoast News, 08.15.2008: http://suncoastpinellas.tbo.com/content/2008/aug/15/mother-dc-madam-wants-suicide-photos-kept-private/?news
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