If innocent, would a press conference help Terri?

stmarysmead

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Let's presume for this thread that Terri is innocent.

I've read that she has stayed silent and has not defended herself in a public statement on advice from her attorneys. If I am wrong about that, please correct me.

Assuming innocence and nothing at all to hide..in regard to both the "Murder for Hire" or Kyron's disappearance, I think it's a mistake not to confront some of these issues.

I'd like to hear others' opinions.

I'm thinking , of course, of how the public confrontation of the lies being told about them, began the PR turnabout for the Duke Lacrosse team.

When Dave Evans, surrounded by members of the team, faced the media...the MSM was replete with stories of a vicious beating and gang-rape. They were already convicted...the accuser was even referred to as their "victim" in MSM news stories. (the Raliegh N&O) The other teammates were alleged to be involved in a conspiracy of silence. These kids stood there that day, with family and attorneys and proclaimed their innocence. "You have been told some fantastic lies."

Like Terri, they were receiving death threats; like Terri, the media was aligned against them; Nancy Grace railed about them nightly.

And these kids were up against what N.C. would later call a "rogue prosecutor."

But, unlike Terri, they let the public hear them....see them. They were emphatic in their denials. They faced it all and stood tall.

Why doesn't Terri do this? Why doesn't she come out and tell us that she never tried to have her husband killed nor played any part in Kyron's disappearance? Stand her ground. Tell us that these fantastic lies are keeping her from her Baby K. Tell us how she misses Kyron.

I think it would help her...if innocent. She should have something on record, that years from now, Baby K can see and understand "My Mom faced them all down for me."

Is Terri in worse jeopardy than the Lacrosse kids?

I think if innocent, she should make a public statement.

If guilty, well, then...no, obviously not.

But if innocent, why not call her own press conference?
 
At this point? No.

I'd like to understand your reasoning....if you are comfortable sharing.

Maybe I'd even change my mind. That is the essential part of a good Board like this....other people's insights or information can move us right off a position to a better place of understanding. (at least I've had that happen to me.)
 
I don't think a press conference would help her, either. What I don't get is why she seemingly hasn't asked for some form of visitation in family court. She hasn't been charged with anything.

If I were her and was innocent of all allegations, I'd be filing emergency motions to rid myself of the restraining order and gain visitation with my children. I would seek relief through the courts, NOT the media.
 
There is nothing which would benefit Terri in a public press conference. People have already established that anything she could say will be a self-serving lie. The lacrosse players had each other for the support and defense against any accusations.

She was out maneuvered in custody of her daughter and now has to live separate from her or answer questions in a civil case which could 1)permanently remove her rights to her child (by not answering or pleading the 5th, which the judge could use in the civil case as prejudicial toward her 'fitness'); or 2) force her to answer questions on a criminal matter that has not been charged against her yet she has been accused of by the plaintiff in the civil case.
 
No... on the afternoon of June 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 even it would have helped... if she made an individual appearance (without the others) and said without once using the words WITCH HUNT.... that she was under intense police scrutiny and although she understands that the police are doing their jobs and doing them well, she wants to emphatically and unequivocally say that she was not involved with Kyron's disappearance and implore any and all searchers, the general public and law enforcement to keep looking for Kyron, to keep considering all possibilities, while also saying that she is confident that eventually LE would come to the conclusion that she is innocent of wrongdoing and that when that moment comes its most important that no time have been lost in the search for her stepson.

I think, if she had said THAT, about half the people listening would have believed her, about a quarter would have been uncertain and about a quarter would have been unmoved in their certainty that she did it. Considering where she stands right now in the court of public opinion, I'd say that would have been a significant improvement.
 
These "personal" press conferences aren't doing any good at finding Kyron. (I don't like to call them that, because they are not really press conferences, if the media is being controlled. I would love to see a "news" conference. JMO )
But anyway, they wouldn't help Terri either.

IMO she's following the advice of her attorney, which is smart. Yes, it's too bad NO ONE from the family was talking when this first started, NO ONE was pleading for Kyron to come home, NO ONE was pleading for whomever took him to release him and let him come home. IMO something really strange occurred between the four parents in this matter right from the get go. I've never seen a case where the parents weren't pleading for their child. At some point, we will all probably find out why/or who said "we shouldn't do that at this point". But for now, it's not going to get TH anywhere to profess her innocence or plead for Kyron's safe return. Perhaps some of the whackos out there might quit driving by her house, but I doubt it. JMO
 
But, we are assuming innocence in this thread. So with that as a given, how do you imagine "answering questions on a criminal matter" can hurt her?

Terri is no more convicted in the eye of the public than the Lacrosse kids. There were rallies with "castrate them!" signs at Duke..."wanted posters" on campus...constant op-eds and editorials presuming guilt. One famous one blared "WE KNOW YOU KNOW!" by the largest newspaper's most well read columnist. And death threats, not just on the Internet. Duke refused to take down their private information with addresses and phone numbers.

That's what those young kids stood up to. And it was the beginning of the idea of possible innocence seeping into the public.

Terri is in no worse position than that. Plus she is losing precious time with her Baby. Will Baby K even know her when she finally sees her again?

Why not speak! Counter what Kaine and Desiree have said.

I just don't understand what an innocent person can fear from publicly proclaiming innocence?
 
Because innocence is no longer assumed until proven guilty. She said that she had a receipt from 9:12 at a FM; I've seen a lot written about how dare she lie about something like that and LE needs to hunt down her accomplice.....

Terri Horman is not presumed innocent, and should not do anything which COULD be used against her in a court of law. I have no idea how much it is getting to her to be separated from her child, but I know I won't presume she's perfectly fine with it.
 
It's a good question. Negative media publicity was a big part of her argument asking for a delay of the divorce proceedings. She/her counsel didn't believe a mental health professional could make an unbiased assay of her due to media reports demonizing her. Seems like a dose of Terri's side should be in order now that the divorce will proceed.
 
But, we are assuming innocence in this thread. So with that as a given, how do you imagine "answering questions on a criminal matter" can hurt her?

Terri is no more convicted in the eye of the public than the Lacrosse kids. There were rallies with "castrate them!" signs at Duke..."wanted posters" on campus...constant op-eds and editorials presuming guilt. One famous one blared "WE KNOW YOU KNOW!" by the largest newspaper's most well read columnist. And death threats, not just on the Internet. Duke refused to take down their private information with addresses and phone numbers.

That's what those young kids stood up to. And it was the beginning of the idea of possible innocence seeping into the public.

Terri is in no worse position than that. Plus she is losing precious time with her Baby. Will Baby K even know her when she finally sees her again?

Why not speak! Counter what Kaine and Desiree have said.

I just don't understand what an innocent person can fear from publicly proclaiming innocence?


I really think the answer is simple, Her attorney is advising her NOT TO. And he may be the type of attorney who follows that up with, "if you don't follow my advice, you will be looking for another attorney."
In situations like this, clients need to fully cooperate with their attorneys and put their faith in them.

Now, I could be wrong, maybe her attorney told her go ahead and vent and say whatever you want, but I seriously doubt that.
 
I would think her lawyer has told her to stay mum. I just don't know why HE has not made a statement on her behalf.
 
While I certainly think Terri has nothing to lose by proclaiming her innocence, I doubt it would gain her much credibility at this point. She has already played the blame game with the school, Kyron's teacher, Kaine, LE (for making her take all those pesky LDTs). Plus, she would have to put forth an amazing PR effort to dig herself out of the MFH hole and the sexting hole and the not-contesting-the-RO hole. That's before she could even TOUCH the topic of her innocence wrt Kyron's disappearance.

So yes, she could muster all her confidence and stand there, knowing that most people feel she is guilty of kidnapping or worse, and start to chip away at that mindset. I doubt she's got it in her.
 
I would think her lawyer has told her to stay mum. I just don't know why HE has not made a statement on her behalf.

In a way, they have, they continue to say she fully cooperated with them. :waitasec:
 
Personally, I would like to hear her speak. IMO it would be a rare human being who hopes for Terri to be guilty. Perhaps it is the woman in me who cringes at the thought that anyone with 'mother' in the title could do this. What I cannot wrap my head around is the 'why' she was silent from the beginning until now. I have stated often I pray she is innocent.

Her silence is deafening.

Where are you angel?
 
It's a good question. Negative media publicity was a big part of her argument asking for a delay of the divorce proceedings. She/her counsel didn't believe a mental health professional could make an unbiased assay of her due to media reports demonizing her. Seems like a dose of Terri's side should be in order now that the divorce will proceed.

Did the judge rule yet on the abatement motion?
 
But, we are assuming innocence in this thread. So with that as a given, how do you imagine "answering questions on a criminal matter" can hurt her?


No it is best for her not to speak.

Sometimes innocent people are convicted, and sent to prison, based on things they have said in public. They are misinterpreted, they didn't show the right amount of emotion or showed too much. They used words in past tense etc.
 
I'd like to understand your reasoning....if you are comfortable sharing.

Maybe I'd even change my mind. That is the essential part of a good Board like this....other people's insights or information can move us right off a position to a better place of understanding. (at least I've had that happen to me.)

I doubt I'd change your mind, but I believe --- innocent or not --- Terri's going to face charges. Making statements to the press can only hurt her defense.
 
It probably wouldn't help at this point. And if she's the type that will just run off at the mouth and use words like "witch hunt" then a press conference will only be worse. I personally don't want to see Terri on the defensive here like it's her against the world (I have SO had enough of that in the Casey case with her parents). The fact that she hasn't tells me her lawyer doesn't think she could do in a convincing way or that it would make her look better in any way. And by now, it wouldn't do her any good anyway. Maybe in the beginning it would have helped, but certainly not now after all she's done. I know the only thing I would get out of hearing her talk is probably that she would be even more guilty in my eyes. As interested as I am to hear her voice, I don't need to hear it.

It's better to hide her than let people see her and judge her at this point. Take the Casey Anthony case. She has no idea how to act or talk in public. Besides the facts of the case, the biggest thing for people is just how bad a defendant she makes. She can't talk or write without sounding self serving and maybe a bit crazy, and the way she sits in the courtroom stonefaced, showing very little emotion and having to practically stab her eyes to get tears out of them just makes her look all the worse. She would have been better off kept out of sight like Terri and not brought out until the trial for anything, but her lawyer likes cameras and money too much. Bad for him, much smarter of Houze to keep Terri hidden.

Terri makes for a better defendant in some ways, but keeping her hidden can only be to her benefit, which is why I'm perplexed as to her appearance at a quickie hearing on the divorce. For one, she does look great for someone under so much stress. I think she actually looks better than she did when this first happened (amazing because she's supposedly under so much stress but it doesn't show at all). She's also stone faced, not wanting to say anything to anybody, with a cold look in her eyes. Sure, she looks better than Casey, but if she were to a do a press conference for herself, her looks and however she talked (tone of voice, words, etc.) would certainly be used against her and it would do her no good.

So no, keep her hidden, don't let her talk, text, or write, just keep her in a box until trial time. There is absolutely nothing she can do to at this point, even calling a press conference to declare her innocence, to help her situation. She should have done at the beginning before everything else happened. She wedged herself into a tight corner if she is innocent. But that's her own fault and no one else's.

ETA: The only people that should hear her speak is LE. Kyron needs to be found. They need to be told to concentrate on someone else if it's not her, or she needs to tell them where the body is, one of the two. She hasn't done either so far.
 
There is nothing which would benefit Terri in a public press conference. People have already established that anything she could say will be a self-serving lie. The lacrosse players had each other for the support and defense against any accusations.

She was out maneuvered in custody of her daughter and now has to live separate from her or answer questions in a civil case which could 1)permanently remove her rights to her child (by not answering or pleading the 5th, which the judge could use in the civil case as prejudicial toward her 'fitness'); or 2) force her to answer questions on a criminal matter that has not been charged against her yet she has been accused of by the plaintiff in the civil case.

Ah, but if she's truly innocent, she would have little to fear in regards to incriminating herself criminally. BTW, pleading the 5th and failing to contest requested orders are essentially the same thing. The court treats them the same. And doing either in this context would not permanently remove her rights to her child. Her parental rights have not been terminated and would not be in a family law setting. Those are rights that cannot be restored. What TH chose to give up are her custodial rights and one can always petition the court to have those restored. But yes, she prejudiced her custodial rights terribly by not contesting the RO and allowing the status quo to be created with her having no contact at all with her daughter.

But I don't see TH as a poor, defenseless mother who was "out-maneuvered". IMO, she made her choices based on what's best for her, no one else and Kaine made decisions based on what's best for his children and himself.
This man's child is missing and LE has told him his wife is involved in that and more. He'd be negligent not to try to protect his kids and himself. I just don't see him as some creepy, soulless man taking advantage of a tragedy to get everything in a divorce he was already planning, which is kind of what I feel is being inferred by some at times. I don't see where the signs of that are close to evident.
If true, Kaine would be one heck of a deviant sociopath. Who else could think that way when their kid is missing?
To me, the man merely wants to protect his daughter and get answers from his wife about Kyron. With much respect, I don't call that out-maneuvering. I call that survival.
 

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