Voice of Reason
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I know that there is already a thread devoted to last night's CourtTV special, but I would like to start a new one to address all the flaws that I picked up in the program. If Tricia or any of the other mods wants to merge it with the other one, so be it, but I thought the critique of the program deserved a thread of its own...
First of all, the show began by indicating that the producers didn't have the slightest belief that the Ramseys were in any way involved. In fact, they made it seem as though one were crazy to even think of such a scenario. Anyone in LE with any intelligence would have immediately turned to the Ramseys!! It is true that there is evidence that may point away from them, and we are all entitled to our opinions, but until shown otherwise, you HAVE to explore the idea that a Ramsey was involved from the start. And what happened to that exploration? The Ramseys lawyered up and moved to Georgia, waiting 3 months before even giving police an interview.
Once the show established, or at least purported to establish, that the Ramseys were in no way involved, they turned to these new investigators. Now here, is where I lost all respect for everything that followed. After thoroughly trashing the BPD, the voice-over said something to the effect of, "Since the Boulder police were not willing to budge, the DA's office looked to a team of investigators hired by the Ramseys." WHAT?????!!!!!!! Have you ever heard of conflict of interest? You can't hire investigators already hired by the number-one suspects to "break" the case!!! Then one of the investigators said something along the lines of, "The BPD asked me to help out on the day of the murder, but I refused, because they just wanted to implicate the Ramseys." As an uninvolved investigator on 12/26/96, how was he so sure that the Ramseys had nothing to do with it? You HAD to be thinking that way on 12/26/96 if you were a half-decent investigator!! Was he even asked, or did he just make that up for drama?
So now, the show moves on, with a group of investigators hired by the Ramseys, and now hired by the DA. GREAT!!! This ought to move things in the right direction. Now, they decide to bring in Michael Helgoth. Hmmmmm...a strange guy who likes guns and lives in Boulder. It MUST be him! He owned Hi-Tek boots and a stun gun, too. First, let's deal with the boots, then the stun gun. I'm not sure where to get the data, but I'd be willing to bet that Hi-Tek is one of the top-5 selling brands of boots. It might even be number 2 behind Timberland, but I don't know for sure. I bet you A LOT of people own Hi-Tek boots, especially in Colorado. And I'd also be willing to bet that about 99% of them have a "Hi-Tek" imprint on the sole. So basically, anyone who has a pair, will "match" the imprint in the Ramsey's basement. But let's not forget the brown specks in Helgoth's imprint! There were also brown specks on the floor of the Ramsey basement. Ok. Call the DA...get the arrest warrant. Where else could a man get a brown speck on the sole of his boot? Dirt?? Actually, I have a better idea, how about you call the lab and do a forensic analysis? They probably did, and it didn't match, so this show didn't tell you about it.
Now, for the stun gun. Nobody has established that a stun gun was used on JBR. There is speculation surrounding this idea, but some agree and some don't. According to this special, it is a flat-out cold, hard fact of this case. Now, let's assume that this blatant lie is actually true. So Michael Helgoth owned a stun gun. But it wasn't the same stun gun!!! When it comes to handguns/rifles, people may have more than one because they are a collector or whatever, but stun guns, IMO, seem like the type of item where one is plenty. Is that there that much of a difference between two different stun guns? Anyway, it wasn't the same stun gun, IF one was used on JBR, so the analysis should stop there anyway.
Since none of this "evidence" actually makes Helgoth any more guilty than you or I, the show then decided to propose the idea that Helgoth did not work alone, and that is why the DNA did not match. Here's the problem I have with that. All the evidence they use to suggest more than one perp is complete BS. First, they point to the "two men looking over your daughter" and the "memberS of a foreign faction" from the ransom note. The same ransom note, that every single investigator involved believes is a total diversion tactic and contains no real information. But, if the shoe fits, wear it, right? So let's pretend it's true, to help us implicate Helgoth! Then, they discuss how two people HAD to commit this crime because they brought so much stuff in the house...rope, duct tape, and a stun gun. I think i could fit all that stuff in my pocket, but that's just me.
Now, after they've given you just enough Helgoth to raise an eyebrow, but not quite enough to actually prove anything, they turn to the other sexual assault in Boulder. Has anyone here ever looked at Boulder crime stats? Aside from the crimes that are probably related to the University (Vandalism, Drug Abuse, DUI, etc...), rape, sexual assault and burglary is a rather common crime. I agree that there are SOME similarities, but it does nothing to further the investigation of this crime.
In conclusion, I must say that this was perhaps one of the most slanted pieces of garbage I've seen in a while. Perhaps it is part of CourtTV's settlement with the Ramseys? Any other flaws/contradictions/blatant lies identified, please add on...
First of all, the show began by indicating that the producers didn't have the slightest belief that the Ramseys were in any way involved. In fact, they made it seem as though one were crazy to even think of such a scenario. Anyone in LE with any intelligence would have immediately turned to the Ramseys!! It is true that there is evidence that may point away from them, and we are all entitled to our opinions, but until shown otherwise, you HAVE to explore the idea that a Ramsey was involved from the start. And what happened to that exploration? The Ramseys lawyered up and moved to Georgia, waiting 3 months before even giving police an interview.
Once the show established, or at least purported to establish, that the Ramseys were in no way involved, they turned to these new investigators. Now here, is where I lost all respect for everything that followed. After thoroughly trashing the BPD, the voice-over said something to the effect of, "Since the Boulder police were not willing to budge, the DA's office looked to a team of investigators hired by the Ramseys." WHAT?????!!!!!!! Have you ever heard of conflict of interest? You can't hire investigators already hired by the number-one suspects to "break" the case!!! Then one of the investigators said something along the lines of, "The BPD asked me to help out on the day of the murder, but I refused, because they just wanted to implicate the Ramseys." As an uninvolved investigator on 12/26/96, how was he so sure that the Ramseys had nothing to do with it? You HAD to be thinking that way on 12/26/96 if you were a half-decent investigator!! Was he even asked, or did he just make that up for drama?
So now, the show moves on, with a group of investigators hired by the Ramseys, and now hired by the DA. GREAT!!! This ought to move things in the right direction. Now, they decide to bring in Michael Helgoth. Hmmmmm...a strange guy who likes guns and lives in Boulder. It MUST be him! He owned Hi-Tek boots and a stun gun, too. First, let's deal with the boots, then the stun gun. I'm not sure where to get the data, but I'd be willing to bet that Hi-Tek is one of the top-5 selling brands of boots. It might even be number 2 behind Timberland, but I don't know for sure. I bet you A LOT of people own Hi-Tek boots, especially in Colorado. And I'd also be willing to bet that about 99% of them have a "Hi-Tek" imprint on the sole. So basically, anyone who has a pair, will "match" the imprint in the Ramsey's basement. But let's not forget the brown specks in Helgoth's imprint! There were also brown specks on the floor of the Ramsey basement. Ok. Call the DA...get the arrest warrant. Where else could a man get a brown speck on the sole of his boot? Dirt?? Actually, I have a better idea, how about you call the lab and do a forensic analysis? They probably did, and it didn't match, so this show didn't tell you about it.
Now, for the stun gun. Nobody has established that a stun gun was used on JBR. There is speculation surrounding this idea, but some agree and some don't. According to this special, it is a flat-out cold, hard fact of this case. Now, let's assume that this blatant lie is actually true. So Michael Helgoth owned a stun gun. But it wasn't the same stun gun!!! When it comes to handguns/rifles, people may have more than one because they are a collector or whatever, but stun guns, IMO, seem like the type of item where one is plenty. Is that there that much of a difference between two different stun guns? Anyway, it wasn't the same stun gun, IF one was used on JBR, so the analysis should stop there anyway.
Since none of this "evidence" actually makes Helgoth any more guilty than you or I, the show then decided to propose the idea that Helgoth did not work alone, and that is why the DNA did not match. Here's the problem I have with that. All the evidence they use to suggest more than one perp is complete BS. First, they point to the "two men looking over your daughter" and the "memberS of a foreign faction" from the ransom note. The same ransom note, that every single investigator involved believes is a total diversion tactic and contains no real information. But, if the shoe fits, wear it, right? So let's pretend it's true, to help us implicate Helgoth! Then, they discuss how two people HAD to commit this crime because they brought so much stuff in the house...rope, duct tape, and a stun gun. I think i could fit all that stuff in my pocket, but that's just me.
Now, after they've given you just enough Helgoth to raise an eyebrow, but not quite enough to actually prove anything, they turn to the other sexual assault in Boulder. Has anyone here ever looked at Boulder crime stats? Aside from the crimes that are probably related to the University (Vandalism, Drug Abuse, DUI, etc...), rape, sexual assault and burglary is a rather common crime. I agree that there are SOME similarities, but it does nothing to further the investigation of this crime.
In conclusion, I must say that this was perhaps one of the most slanted pieces of garbage I've seen in a while. Perhaps it is part of CourtTV's settlement with the Ramseys? Any other flaws/contradictions/blatant lies identified, please add on...