Daily Camera reporter explains why he fought for releasing the Ramsey indictment

From the (Boulder) Daily Camera:  By Charlie Brennan, Camera Staff Writer

The Daily Camera reported Jan. 27 in a front-page exclusive that the JonBenet Ramsey grand jury had voted, more than 13 years before, to indict both John and Patsy Ramsey on a charge of felony child abuse resulting in death.

Before that day, the true actions of those 12 Boulder County citizens had been misreported. The public had long been told that jurors had not taken a vote, or, alternatively, that they had elected not to indict anyone.

The January story, under my byline, was the culmination of literally years’ worth of reporting and source development, finally reaching fruition only after I joined the Camera in November 2012. The Camera offered me the full editorial support required to report on the grand jury’s conclusions, with sourcing and credibility that would justify its publication.

People have asked me numerous times in recent weeks, given that one target of the 1999 indictment died long ago and that the statute of limitations on child abuse resulting in death expired, why was it important to secure the actual Ramsey indictment — having already reported on its existence?

I offer a brief anecdote. Several weeks following publication of the Camera’s grand jury exclusive, I had lunch with a man who had worked the Ramsey case intensively for a local law enforcement agency in the immediate days, weeks and months following JonBenet’s death.

During our meal, he asked me, “Are you saying that this was an informal straw poll of the jury, a show of hands or something, or are you saying that there is really a piece of paper with the box checked off and the signature — the whole 9 yards?”

It was the latter, I told him. He put down his fork, shaking his head slightly, saying, “Holy (expletive).”

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