The Death of Innocence : The Untold Story of JonBenet's Murder and How Its Exploitation Compromised the Pursuit of Truth (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Patsy Ramsey (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Part memoir, part murder mystery and part diatribe, this book targets socially conservative Christians, but much of its content will undoubtedly engender sympathy in a broader audience. In response to three years of allegations that they killed their daughter, the Ramseys have written their side of the story, refuting the myriad accusations leveled against them and replacing them with their own recollections of events. These recollections paint a more than plausible picture of a family victimized at first by the horrific murder of a young child and then by a relentless media and police campaign to smear their reputations and prove their guilt. There is a whiff of narcissism in their tendency to refer to themselves in the third person; detailed descriptions of their homes, clothing and other possessions add to this impression. The Ramseys do, however, acknowledge that their wealth, now mostly gone, has protected them from the wrongful incarceration that many Americans endure. The Ramseys' attempt to set the record straight is at times tiresome, especially when they predictably complain about liberals who hate them because they are successful. But as we read their account of the hellishness of their lives since their daughter's murder, we realize that nothing about this situation has ever been fair and simply mourn that they had occasion to write this book at all. 16-page photo insert. Author appearances on 20/20, Today and Larry King Live.

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Since the murder of their daughter on Christmas night, 1996, John and Patsy Ramsey have lived a nightmare of grief, fear, and persecution. Throughout the onslaught, they have remained quiet, patiently trusting that the focus would finally turn to finding the person who committed this heinous crime. The Death of Innocence contradicts the myths, half-truths, and outright lies that have been published as fact in this tragic case. It also tells of the Ramsey's faith in God, their trust that He is in control, and their relationship with Him that has seen them through this tortuous ordeal. From the people who have lived it, this is the entire story for the first time—from the inside out.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 396 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson; First Edition, First Printing edition (March 17, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785268162
• ISBN-13: 978-0785268161
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (198 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #906,618 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Made me think, February 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Death of Innocence (Paperback)

...it's fun to read stories that you assume are largely fiction but have characters that you know from movies, history, etc. I was certain that "The Death of Innocence" fell squarely into that category. However, I was surprised to find it to be a fairly well written memoir that presented a plausible case for the Ramsey's innocence. While the book didn't convince me that the Ramseys are as innocent as they claim to be...If nothing else, the book forced me to think of John, Patsy, and JonBenet as real people instead of two-dimensional tabloid characters...

32 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Innocence: Dead On Arrival, June 18, 2000

By A Customer

Consider this, innocence falls asleep in the back seat of a car, riding home on Christmas night and is never seen again. Her mother, a former beauty queen, her father, a successful computer mogul and a brother as much a victim as scapegoat have traveled a road that has ended nowhere. . . they have just entered the Ramsey Zone where truth is stranger than fiction and innocence is dead on arrival.

In their book they attempt to give us a seamless version of the events of that fateful night but what they end up doing is creating a black hole of illogical and incomprehensible fabrications.

John and Patsy, a "loving couple" have no contact from the time the car pulls into the driveway until Patsy discovers the ransom note the next morning.

Patsy neglects to tell police in her 911 call that the kidnappers have threatened the life of their daughter if police are called and that they are watching the house.

Although the kidnappers state in the note that the Ramseys are not to talk to a stray dog or their daughter will be beheaded, they immediately call several friends and invite them over. They tell interviewers that they wish they had invited over more friends.

John spots a suspicious van parked in the back alley but doesn't mention it to the houseful of police.

Patsy would like us to believe that the former beauty queen doesn't need a daily shower or clean clothes, just a face full of makeup to start her day.

John would like us to believe that he spies the alleged escape hatch of the kidnappers, the broken window in the basement with the suitcase poised underneath but never mentions this breakthrough to the many police upstairs.

John and Patsy state that they believe the killer is communicating to the woman in Wisconsin via the internet, yet neither contact her, ever!

They write a memorial together for the first anniversary of JonBenet's death and their friends the Stines edit this. Mysteriously, the odd phrase "and, hence" appears in the edited version. The Ramseys never consider the Stines as the possible authors of the ransom note or mention the coincidence to the police.

Patsy states in the book and John restates in his interview with Barbara Walters that "the nightgown was not suppose to be there." I ask you, who else but the killers would know that.

And on and on ad nauseum...

The last laugh is the "Chronicle of Cooperation", the chapter, that purports to show the extent to which they cooperated with the Police. This chapter should be renamed "The Charade of Concealment". The Ramseys reluctantly submitted to the absolute minimum amount of scrutiny - tissue specimens, hand writing samples and routine questions. When you compare Steve Thomas's version ("JonBenet: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation"} of events immediately following the murder to their insipid diatribe, you realize the chilling depths to which the Ramseys will sink. All the time, that they would have us believe that they were cooperating, they were choreographing an elalorate and extensive private investigation, independent of the police. This parallel effort only served to obfuscate the truth, deflect suspicion and compromise the value of testimonial evidence of all other witnesses.

In the Ramsey Zone, John and Patsy's book is an effort to keep us in the dark. Steve Thomas' book strives to illuminate. As Justice Brandeis once said, "Light is the greatest disinfectant." Perhaps, some day, JonBenet will show us the light.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget what you think about guilt or innocence..., March 24, 2000

By A Customer

Consider what this book gives you: access to two of the most major players in the Ramsey case. Whether you are anti-Ramsey (and prepared to disbelieve every word), pro-Ramsey (and prepared to believe every word), or somewhere in between, Death of Innocence gives you something concrete against which to measure media reports, talk show content, and the statements and leaks from the Boulder PD and DA. Once one's mind is made up, it's tempting to stop thinking, stop listening, stop being open to possibilities that are contrary to your rigid stance. But the only thing that will accomplishe is to freeze you in place, leaving you forever stuck with your views, regardless of where the facts may lead. If you happen to be right, perhaps that's not such a bad thing. But if you're wrong, you'll either be eating a lot of crow, or denying the correctness of the ultimate solution of this crime (*if* it's ever solved). For quite a while now I have been leaning toward the possibility that the Ramseys are innocent, but I bought their book to look for contraditions and conflicts that might challenge or change my thinking. I did not simply seek reinforcment of what I was already tending to believe. In Death of Innocence, I have read things that trouble me, raising questions that I wish I could hear answered. But over all (at least at this moment) I remain open to the thought that the Ramseys may well be innocent. You may see it otherwise. This book is neither exonerating nor incriminating. Rather, it is an important piece in an intriguing puzzle. Regardless of whether it contains information or disinformation, it is an essential document for those who are thinking their way through the maze of this murder case, for how can one do that without knowing what the Ramseys have to say? It may be lies or it may be the truth -- but in either case, it is the only document of its kind that we have available to us. To judge it, you must read it. And to know its accuracy, you must wait for a time that may never come. It is not my admiration for the writing that makes me give this book 5 stars (in fact, I see the hand of the ghost writer throughout; I wish that freelance writer hadn't "helped" the Ramseys because I wanted their "voices" to be truly theirs). Why did I give the book 5 stars? Because it tells us the Ramseys' story, or at least the story the Ramseys want us to believe -- and, either way, it is indispensible to anyone who is making an informed decision regarding the Ramseys' guilt or innocence. Use it to shape your thinking now, and to refer to later, if and when the case is officially solved.