Nancy Grace was sued for defamation earlier this week. It’s not the first time Grace has been sued for defamation (and probably won’t be the last), but it is the first time she’s been sued for defamation by someone who turned out to be completely innocent of the crime they were accused of.
What exactly is going on here? If you haven’t been following the case, or missed the original story, here’s everything you need to know.
So what exactly was this guy accused of?
Back on January 29th, a woman was putting her children to bed and later found a strange man’s selfie on her cell phone. Fearful of a home invader, she called Denver police. The photo was then widely circulated by the Denver Metro Crime Stoppers, and eventually picked up by Nancy Grace.
But he didn’t do it, right?
Right. The whole thing was quickly figured out to be a mistake. The suspect in question, a man named Ben Seibert, was working in California at the time and somehow a Facebook photo of Seibert’s made it into the woman’s photo album on her phone. Seibert’s friends notified him after seeing the photograph being circulated online, and by February 8th he had completely cleared his name.
And where does Nancy Grace come into all this?
Denver Police removed the man’s photos from their social media accounts, but Denver Metro Crime Stoppers did not, and in the same month Seibert was cleared, Nancy Grace ran with the story.
So this was basically a misunderstanding on Nancy Grace’s part.
No, Denver Police reportedly reached out to Grace’s show and informed them that Seibert’s name had been cleared, but she continued to run with the broadcast anyway and without retraction, labeling him the “Selfie Stalker.” Seibert was harassed online due to the broadcast and publicly branded a pervert.
Oh. Well at least she didn’t accuse him of being a murderer or anything, right?
Her exact words to describe Seibert’s photo was that it was a “textbook serial killer’s calling card.”
Ooooooookay then. Still, these types of defamation cases are nearly impossible to win.
According to at least one legal analyst, this may be the exception to the rule. Seibert’s attorneys are going to be relying on Nancy Grace’s reputation, and are already hunting down what may be a “litany” of others who may have been defamed or wronged by the talk show host.
So what you’re saying is Nancy Grace needs to up the sales of her handcuff jewelry in the near future?
Bingo.
(Sources: Huffington Post, USA Today)
