Post by Angela on Apr 16, 2009 16:42:10 GMT -5
This is what was written by Hassell Miller's daughter about her father being a witness to the murders by Charlie Lawson. Her name is Deborah Morton: This is part of your favorite post from the old forum Angel.
Having read The Meaning of Our Tears, I must dispute the veracity of Ms. Smiths assertion that she "has the story of what happened inside the house that day from a man who witnessed these murders as a 9 year old." Ms. Smith did not interview that man, she was only told a story by someone who knew that man for about 2 years. She never attempted to contact any of the man's family -- I know because that man was my father, who died in 2005. Ms. Smith's lack of thorough investigative journalism in this very crucial part of her book leads me to wonder what other "facts" may be as poorly researched as this one was.
Posted by: Deborah Morton | May 08, 2007 at 01:16 AM
The point is this--no one contacted any of our family to attempt to confirm, clarify, or put into context anything that might have been said by my father,or to find out what our reaction might be to this story being published. Given the amount of "research" that is alleged to have gone into this book, it is mystifying to me as to why we were never contacted. If the assumption was that we must have known, then it would seem logical to talk with us to see if there was additional information to be obtained. If the assumption was that we did not know, it would seem that the astute researcher/editor would want to have some independent verification of the material reported before presenting it as fact. Either way, it is inconsiderate, disrespectful and unprofessional . . while people will often report their understanding of what soemone has said to them to a reporter, or author, it is the author who has the respnsibility of checking his or her facts before deciding whether or not to include such information in a publication. People will draw their own conclusions about the veracity of the information contained in the book. I know I did. I am most sorry for the Lawson and Manring families, and the pain which they likely experience from the inaccuracies and assumptions that are tossed about. As far as I can tell, there has never really been any question of how this tragedy occurred, and who did it, for many years. Whether or not the family members were open to discussing their thoughts and feelings about it or not is absolutely their right and decision to make.
I appreciate the opportunity to express my opinion and beliefs, just as other have done in the preparation of TMOOT, and on this website.
Posted by: Deborah Morton | May 16, 2007 at 09:50 PM
Having read The Meaning of Our Tears, I must dispute the veracity of Ms. Smiths assertion that she "has the story of what happened inside the house that day from a man who witnessed these murders as a 9 year old." Ms. Smith did not interview that man, she was only told a story by someone who knew that man for about 2 years. She never attempted to contact any of the man's family -- I know because that man was my father, who died in 2005. Ms. Smith's lack of thorough investigative journalism in this very crucial part of her book leads me to wonder what other "facts" may be as poorly researched as this one was.
Posted by: Deborah Morton | May 08, 2007 at 01:16 AM
The point is this--no one contacted any of our family to attempt to confirm, clarify, or put into context anything that might have been said by my father,or to find out what our reaction might be to this story being published. Given the amount of "research" that is alleged to have gone into this book, it is mystifying to me as to why we were never contacted. If the assumption was that we must have known, then it would seem logical to talk with us to see if there was additional information to be obtained. If the assumption was that we did not know, it would seem that the astute researcher/editor would want to have some independent verification of the material reported before presenting it as fact. Either way, it is inconsiderate, disrespectful and unprofessional . . while people will often report their understanding of what soemone has said to them to a reporter, or author, it is the author who has the respnsibility of checking his or her facts before deciding whether or not to include such information in a publication. People will draw their own conclusions about the veracity of the information contained in the book. I know I did. I am most sorry for the Lawson and Manring families, and the pain which they likely experience from the inaccuracies and assumptions that are tossed about. As far as I can tell, there has never really been any question of how this tragedy occurred, and who did it, for many years. Whether or not the family members were open to discussing their thoughts and feelings about it or not is absolutely their right and decision to make.
I appreciate the opportunity to express my opinion and beliefs, just as other have done in the preparation of TMOOT, and on this website.
Posted by: Deborah Morton | May 16, 2007 at 09:50 PM
