Understanding and respecting Karr’s
acquittal
Alexandra Hemmerly-Brown
/ Columnist
Watching the flashing lights of the fire alarm system dance
across the people in the courtroom on my TV screen, I found
myself surprised to hear the outcome of the John Mark Karr
case on Aug. 28.
Following the case that’s exploded in the media over
the past few weeks, I found it hard to believe that charges
were being dropped against Karr in a press conference held by
Colorado’s District Attorney.
Karr is a known pedophile who has traveled to different
countries in his quest for new children to prey on. He not
only admitted he killed JonBenet Ramsey, but gave graphic
detail on how he did it.
Why is a man who puts his cards so openly out on the table
not being convicted of this crime?
Well, I learned something somewhat comforting about the U.S.
justice system through this case—they don’t want
just any guy to take the fall. In Boulder, Colo., District
Attorney Mary Lacy announced Karr’s case was dropped
because of two key factors: his DNA did not tie him to the
murder scene and his family claims he was in a different
state on the night of the murder.
I thought this seemed like small potatoes matched up against
a confession and years of e-mail evidence in which Karr
speaks of Ramsey. If he said he did it, why not nail him and
put this case to rest?
But it seems, in this case anyway, that the U.S. wants the
right guy behind bars.
No evidence has developed, other than his own repeated
admittance, to place Karr at the scene of the crime,
according to a USA Today article. For Karr’s story to
be true, the DNA found at the crime scene had to be his, and
it wasn’t. That seemingly small error shook his whole
case.
Some might ask why any person would want to incriminate
themselves, but the overruling answer is that Karr truly
believes he committed the crime.
He might be crazy, but just believing that you did something
doesn’t mean you did it–in this case, I believe
the U.S. justice system is saving a man from himself, as
unsightly as he might be.
For me, the most interesting part of Karr’s acquittal
was learning that he is just one of many wackos who’s
been investigated as a suspect in the case. I’m sure
with such high-profile cases, getting anonymous confessions
and prank calls are commonplace, but I didn’t realize
that several had been looked into with no return.
According to the press conference, several individuals
claiming to have killed JonBenet Ramsey have identified
themselves over the years but were never brought into the
public eye.
Many times, the confessions were immediately disregarded
because of serious errors in their account of the
crime.
Lacey said that this case could not be held from the media
because Karr was arrested in Thailand. Thailand’s press
pounced on the chance for coverage, which sent America into a
frenzy.
Basically, this leaves one wondering if he had not been
arrested in another country, would Karr still be a household
name? Unfortunately for him, I think the answer would be yes,
because for days he fooled authorities into believing that he
was guilty with in-depth details about the Ramsey family, and
seemingly genuine displays of emotion and remorse.
Ultimately, although I think it would be nice to solve this
bizarre case, for now it looks like Karr is just another
wacko pedophile who did not kill the bubbly beauty pageant
contestant.
“Karr sincerely believes he killed JonBenet, so I have
very little sympathy for him,” said Lacy, who acquitted
Karr.
Sympathy seems to be lacking on all sides for the
self-incriminating schoolteacher, and I don’t think any
is due. Should this case have gotten so much press? Who
knows, but frankly, I’m glad another weirdo is off the
streets, and hopefully doing time for his other
offenses.
Contact Alexandra Hemmerly-Brown at pendulum@elon.edu or
278-7247. | 
