| 10th | Top news presenters |
| 4th | Top Georgia State University people |
| Nancy Grace | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Nancy Ann Grace October 23, 1959 Macon, Georgia, United States |
| Education | LL.M., New York University J.D., Mercer University |
| Occupation | Former Prosecutor, Television Personality |
| Spouse(s) | David Linch |
| Children | Lucy Elizabeth, John David |
| Religious belief(s) | Christian |
| Notable credit(s) | Closing Arguments anchor (1996–2007) Nancy Grace Program anchor (2005–Present) |
Nancy Ann Grace (born October 23, 1959) is an American legal commentator, television host, and former prosecutor. She frequently discusses issues from what she describes as a victims' rights standpoint, with an outspoken style that has won her both praise and condemnation. She is the host of Nancy Grace, a nightly current affairs show on HLN, and she was the host of Court TV's Closing Arguments.[1] She also co-wrote the book Objection! — How High-Priced Defense Attorneys, Celebrity Defendants, and a 24/7 Media Have Hijacked Our Criminal Justice System.
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Grace was born in Macon, Georgia to a working-class family.[2] She attended Valdosta State University, and later received a BA from Mercer University.[3] As a student, Grace was a fan of Shakespearean literature, and intended to become an English professor after graduating from college.[2] However, after the murder of her fiancé, Keith Griffin, when she was 19, Grace decided to enroll in law school and went on to become a felony prosecutor and a supporter of victims' rights.[4]
Grace was a member of the law review at and received her Juris Doctor degree from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. She went on to earn a Masters in constitutional and criminal law from New York University.[4] She has written articles and opinion pieces for legal periodicals, including the American Bar Association Journal.[4] Grace worked as a clerk for a federal court judge and practiced antitrust and consumer protection law with the Federal Trade Commission.[4] She taught litigation at the Georgia State University College of Law and business law at GSU's School of Business.[4] As of 2006, she is part of Mercer University's board of trustees and adopted a section of the street surrounding the law school.
In April 2007, Grace married David Linch, an Atlanta investment banker, in a small private ceremony. The two had met while she was studying at Mercer University in the '70s. Grace, who had given up on marriage after the death of her fiancé, said, "We've been in touch all these years, and a lot of time, we were separated by geography and time. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to get married. I told my family only two days before the wedding."[citation needed]
On June 26, 2007 an emotional Grace announced on her HLN talk show that her life had "taken a U-turn" in that she was pregnant and expecting twins due in January 2008.[5][6] Nancy Grace gave birth to fraternal twins, named Lucy and John, on November 4, 2007.
In March 2006 an article in the New York Observer suggested that in her book Objection!, Grace had embellished the story of her college fiancé's 1979 murder and the ensuing trial to make it better support her image. Grace has described the tragedy as the impetus for her career as a prosecutor and victims' rights advocate, and has often publicly referred to the incident.[7] The Observer researched the murder and found several apparent contradictions between the events and Grace's subsequent statements, including the following:
Grace told the Observer she had not looked into the case in many years and "tried not to think about it".[7] She said she made her previous statements about the case "with the knowledge I had."[7]
In response to MSNBC's Keith Olbermann's claims in a March 2007 Rolling Stone interview where he was quoted as saying, "Anybody who would embellish the story of their own fiancé's murder should spend that hour a day not on television but in a psychiatrist's chair,"[citation needed] Grace stated, "I did not put myself through law school and fight for all those years for victims of crime to waste one minute of my time, my energy, and my education in a war of words with Keith Olbermann, whom I've never met nor had any disagreement. I feel we have X amount of time on Earth, and that when we give in to our detractors or spend needless time on silly fights, I think that's abusing the chance we have to do something good."[8][9][citation needed]
Keith Griffin's murderer, Tommy McCoy, was released from the Georgia Department of Corrections on December 5, 2006.
Grace worked for nearly a decade in the Atlanta-Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney's office as Special Prosecutor. Her work focused on felony cases involving serial murder, serial rape, serial child molestation, and arson.[10]
Grace left the prosecutors' office after the District Attorney she had been working under decided not to run for reelection.[11]
The Supreme Court of Georgia has twice commented on Grace's conduct as a prosecutor. First, in a 1994 heroin drug trafficking case, Bell v. State, the Court declared a mistrial, saying that Grace had "exceeded the wide latitude of closing argument" by drawing comparisons to unrelated murder and rape cases.[12]
In 1997, the court was more severe. Although its unanimous decision overturning the murder-arson conviction of businessman W. W. Carr in the death of his wife was caused primarily by other issues, the court made note of Grace's court actions, citing "inappropriate and illegal conduct in the course of the trial."[citation needed]
While the court said its reversal was not due to these transgressions, since the case had turned primarily on circumstantial evidence, it nevertheless concluded "the conduct of the prosecuting attorney in this case demonstrated her disregard of the notions of due process and fairness, and was inexcusable."[13] Carr was freed in 2004 when The Georgia Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Fulton County had waited too long to retry him.
Other courts have criticized Grace's conduct even while upholding convictions in her cases. In a 2005 opinion, a panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said Grace "played fast and loose"[14] with her ethical duties and failed to "fulfill her responsibilities"[14] as a prosecutor in the 1990 triple murder trial of Herbert Connell Stephens. She failed to turn evidence over to his defense team that pointed to other suspects. The court noted that it was "difficult to conclude that Grace did not knowingly" elicit false testimony from a police investigator that there were no other suspects despite strong evidence to the contrary.[14]
After leaving the Fulton County prosecutors' office, Grace was approached by and accepted an offer from Court TV founder Steven Brill to do a legal commentary show alongside Johnnie Cochran. When Cochran left the show, Grace was moved to a solo trial coverage show on CourtTV.[11]
In 2005, she began hosting a regular primetime legal analysis show on CNN Headline News (now HLN) in addition to her CourtTV show.[10] On May 9, 2007, Grace announced that she would be leaving Court TV to focus more on her CNN Headline News Program and charity work.[15] She did her last show on Court TV on June 19, 2007.
The Foundation of American Women in Radio & Television has presented Nancy Grace with two Gracie Awards for her Court TV show.[10]
In 2006, 21-year-old Melinda Duckett committed suicide following an interview conducted by Grace concerning the disappearance of Duckett's 2-year-old son.[16]
Grace interviewed Duckett less than two weeks after the child went missing, questioning her for her alleged lack of openness regarding her son's disappearance, asking Duckett "Where were you? Why aren't you telling us where you were that day?"[17] Duckett appeared confused and was unable to answer whether or not she had taken a polygraph test. When Grace asked her why she could not account for specific details, Duckett began to reply, "Because I was told not to," to which Grace responded, "Ms. Duckett, you are not telling us for a reason. What is the reason? You refuse to give even the simplest facts of where you were with your son before he went missing. It is day twelve." According to the CNN transcript, Duckett replied, "(INAUDIBLE) with all media. It's not just there, just all media. Period." Grace then moved on to a media psychologist who asserted that Duckett was "skirting around the issue."[16][17]
The next day, before the airing of the show, Duckett shot herself, a death that relatives claim was influenced by media scrutiny, particularly from Grace.[16][18] Speaking to the The Orlando Sentinel, Duckett's grandfather Bill Eubank said, "Nancy Grace and the others, they just bashed her to the end. She was not one anyone ever would have thought of to do something like this."[citation needed] CNN has also been criticized for allowing the show to air in the wake of Duckett's suicide.[citation needed] Police investigating the case had not named Melinda Duckett as a suspect in the case at the time, but after her suicide the police did say that, as nearly all parents are in missing-child cases, she was a suspect from the beginning.[16]
In an interview on Good Morning America, Nancy Grace said in reaction to events that "If anything, I would suggest that guilt made her commit suicide. To suggest that a 15- or 20-minute interview can cause someone to commit suicide is focusing on the wrong thing."[19] She then said that, while she sympathized with the family, she knew from her own experience as a victim of crime that such people look for somebody else to blame.[20]
While describing it as an "extremely sad development," Janine Iamunno, a spokeswoman for Grace,[16] said that her program would continue to follow the case as they had a "responsibility to bring attention to this case in the hopes of helping find Trenton Duckett."[citation needed] Grace said, "I do not feel that our show is to blame for what happened to Melinda Duckett. The truth is not always nice or polite or easy to go down. Sometimes it's harsh, and it hurts."[16]
On November 21, 2006, thesmokinggun.com exposed pending litigation on behalf of the estate of Melinda Duckett, asserting a wrongful death claim against CNN and Grace. The attorney for the estate alleges that, even if Duckett did kill her own son, Grace's aggressive questioning so traumatized Duckett that she committed suicide. She also argues that CNN's decision to air the interview after Duckett's suicide traumatized her family.[21][22]
Grace took a pro-prosecution position throughout the 2006 Duke University lacrosse case, in which Crystal Gail Mangum, an African-American stripper and North Carolina Central University student, falsely accused three members of Duke University's men's lacrosse team of raping her at a party. Prior to Duke suspending its men's lacrosse team's season, she sarcastically noted on the air, "I'm so glad they didn't miss a lacrosse game over a little thing like gang rape!" and "Why would you go to a cop in an alleged gang rape case, say, and lie and give misleading information?"[23] On an April 6 episode, she asked Clark Goldband about "the stats." Goldband responded with a report on lacrosse statistics. She then berated him, "Clark, I don't mean the athletic stats. I meant the rape stats. What would that have to do with this case?"[24] It is unknown if this was a prank played by the crew or if it was an honest mistake by Goldband. After the disbarment of District Attorney Mike Nifong, Attorney General Roy Cooper pronounced all three players innocent of the rape charges made by Mangum. On the following broadcast of her show, Grace did not appear and a substitute reporter announced the removal of all charges.
During the Elizabeth Smart case, when suspect Richard Ricci was arrested by police on the basis that he had a criminal record and had worked on the Smarts' home, Grace immediately and repeatedly proclaimed on CourtTV and CNN's Larry King that Ricci "was guilty,"[citation needed] although there was little evidence to support this claim. She also suggested publicly that Ricci's girlfriend was involved in the cover-up of his alleged crime. Grace continued to accuse Ricci, though he died while in custody.
It was later revealed that Smart was kidnapped by Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, two individuals with whom Richard Ricci had no connection.
When CourtTV confronted Grace seven months later to ask whether she was incorrect in her assertion that Ricci was guilty, and whether or not she felt bad about it in any way, she stated that Ricci was "a known ex-con, a known felon, and brought suspicion on himself, so who could blame anyone for claiming he was the perpetrator?"[citation needed] When Larry King asked her about the matter, she equated criticism of herself with criticism of the police in the case. She said: "I'm not letting you take the police with me on a guilt trip."[25]
In July 2006, Grace interviewed Elizabeth Smart and repeatedly asked her for information about her experience. During the course of the questioning, Smart asked her to stop and stated, "I really am here to support the bill and not to go into what — you know, what happened to me." When Grace persisted, asking Smart what it was like to see out of a burqa her abductors forced her to wear, a visibly upset Smart replied, "I'm really not going to talk about this at this time...to be frankly honest, I really don't appreciate you bringing all this up." Grace replied, "I'm sorry, dear, I thought that you would speak out to other victims, but you know what, I completely understand."[26]
Grace co-wrote the book Objection! — How High-Priced Defense Attorneys, Celebrity Defendants, and a 24/7 Media Have Hijacked Our Criminal Justice System, which was published by Hyperion on June 8, 2005. The book caused notable controversy because Grace referred to defense lawyers as "pigs" and compared them to Nazi concentration camp guards.
According to an article first published by the New York Daily News in September 2006, Grace plagiarized 359 words spread sequentially across pages 204-5 of the book, lifted without indication from an August 5, 2002 article in the The New York Times written by Sabra Chartrand. Hyperion accepted Grace's claim that the plagiarism was an "inadvertent error" but insisted that Grace send a letter to the Times promising that the content would be corrected in future printings. Hyperion explained that under contract, Grace must hold the publisher harmless in the event that the Times filed a lawsuit against her. Grace reportedly declined the request.[27]
Nancy Grace's first work of fiction, The Eleventh Victim, also published by Hyperion, was released on August 11, 2009. The mystery thriller follows a young psychology student, Hailey Dean, whose fiancé is murdered just weeks before their wedding. She goes on to prosecute violent crime and is forced to reckon with what she left behind.[28]Publishers Weekly described it as "less than compelling."[29]
Grace has also helped staff a hotline at an Atlanta battered women’s center for 10 years.[4]
Grace has been parodied on several comedy programs, and several characters based on her persona have appeared on various television shows. Among the media featuring parodies of Grace or a character based on Grace:
The Law & Order programs often base their fictional stories on real-life events and have featured stories based on Grace on several occasions.[citation needed]
In an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, an overzealous reporter causes the mother of a kidnapped son to commit suicide, echoing the Melinda Duckett incident.[35] Grace has also been parodied repeatedly on Law & Order: Criminal Intent by a character named Faith Yancy who hosts a similar talk show that sensationalizes whatever case the main characters are working on and makes it difficult for them to gain access to key witnesses.
On May 22, 2007, Grace appeared in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Screwed," the season 8 finale, playing herself opposite Star Jones.[36]
Nancy Grace (born October 23, 1958, in Macon, Georgia) is a victims' rights advocate and former prosecutor who is the host of a self-titled CNN Headline News show. She also anchors Court TV's "Closing Arguments" and has co-authored the book Objection! -- How High-Priced Defense Attorneys, Celebrity Defendants, and a 24/7 Media Have Hijacked Our Criminal Justice System.
   | CNN Transcript: "Nancy Grace" Show - CNN.com - Transcripts |
| | CNN Transcript: Interview with Larry King - CNN.com - Transcripts |
| | CNN's Nancy Grace Show - Show Pages - Nancy Grace - CNN.com |
| | CNN's Bio of Nancy Grace - CNN Programs - Anchors/Reporters - Nancy Grace |
| | 11th Circuit Court: 'Nancy Grace 'Played Fast and Loose' With Ethics' - Law.com - 11th Circuit: Nancy Grace 'Played Fast and Loose' With Ethics |
| | CNN guest kills herself after gruelling questions - CNN guest kills herself after gruelling questions - Times Online |
| | Transcript of show - CNN.com - Transcripts |
| | CNN "Anchors & Reporters" profile - CNN Programs - Anchors/Reporters - Nancy Grace |
| | Court TV Anchor biography - court TV becomes truTV |
| | Larry King Live interview - CNN.com - Transcripts |
| | Haystack - "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" Haystack (2007) |
| | Did Nancy Grace, TV Crimebuster, Muddy Her Myth? - Did Nancy Grace, TV Crimebuster, Muddy Her Myth? | The New York Observer |
| | Nancy Grace Says 'Guilt' Likely Made Mother Commit Suicide - Nancy Grace Says 'Guilt' Likely Made Mother Commit Suicide - ABC News |
| | Nancy Grace Sued For Wrongful Death - Nancy Grace Sued For Wrongful Death - November 21, 2006 |
| | Court TV Anchor biography - Nancy Grace's Bio on Court TV |
| | Graceless; Did Nancy Grace kill Melinda Duckett - Did television's toughest prosecutor kill Melinda Duckett? - By Dahlia Lithwick - Slate Magazine |
| | "Reading Nancy Grace" - Printculture : Reading Nancy Grace |
| | CourtTV: Bio of Nancy Grace - court TV becomes truTV |
| | department's website - || GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS || |
| | Transcript of Nancy Grace Show - CNN.com - Transcripts |
| | Nancy Grace Interview - ATLANTAboy.com: Best of Gay Atlanta: Nancy Grace: Exclusive Interview |
| | of her various claims and outbursts on her show - Duke (Non) Rape Case | The Daily Show | Comedy Central |
| | #1 Nancy Grace Fan club - ProBoards.com - Free Message Boards |
| | Pictures of Nancy Grace - Pictures of Nancy Grace |
| | Nancy Grace Fan club - Main Page @ nancygracefanclub.bravehost.com - A Bravenet.com Hosted Site |
| | Nancy Grace impersonation - YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. |
| | Nancy falling from Grace over book? - New York News, Traffic, Sports, Weather, Entertainment and Gossip - NY Daily News |
| | Nancy Grace fan site - Nancy Grace Fan Site |
| | Wrestling Fans Going to War with Nancy Grace - Wrestling Fans Going to War with Nancy Grace - Associated Content |
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