The Disintegration of the Truth in Media.

After watching the video editorial of Ed Kelley regarding the Raye Dawn Smith Case - I was so angered and incensed that I was moved to write a letter to him and send it via FEDEX.  He will receive it tomorrow.  I am sick of the media speaking on my behalf when they have not researched or presented the facts.  These powerful money making machines steamroll over people's lives with little regard for the truth.  Every media outlet in that area will receive a copy challenging them to do the same.

I beg you all to take action against lies presented by the media. This lack of humanity is unconscionable.

The following is my letter.  Thank you and gratitude to William Newmiller and Mary Thompson for fact check and editing.

The Oklahoman

9000 North Broadway,

Oklahoma City, OK

73114

Attention: Mr. Ed Kelley

Editor

Dear Mr. Kelley,

Re: Video Editorial - June 29th, 2009

Kelsey Smith-Briggs

As editor of your newspaper the Oklahoman, "The State's Most Trusted News", you of all people should be one that holds truth and full disclosure in print media to the highest regard.

I stumbled upon your video editorial and couldn't believe what I heard.  Have you read all about this case in complete detail?  Are you impartial?  Although I'm sure you speak from your heart, what you say is not fact-based.

To understand this complex case we need to study the complex personalities that have propelled it to prominence. There's Lance Briggs who continues to profit from the death of his child.  You don't say what he'll do with the settlement money.  Will he be donating this money to charity?  Will he donate it to Kelsey's Purpose?  You know Kelsey's Purpose is not a non-profit or charity and basically lines the pockets of Kathie Briggs and her son.  Or will he, like his own mother, use this heartbreaking story of a beautiful little girl to gain sympathy and further financial rewards?

I am especially disturbed by what you call a "pathetic twist".  You say, "...that's some gall, shown by the mother Raye Dawn Smith, since she's in prison on a 27 year sentence related to Kelsey's death.  As one of my colleagues pointed out, maybe mama will be spending her share of the loot in the prison commissary." Have you interviewed Raye Dawn Smith and asked her why she has filed a suit for half of the award?  Have you considered at any point the credible claims of innocence that have been advanced on her behalf?  Have you researched the flawed nature of her original trial?  Did it occur to you that perhaps she feels wronged by the criminal justice system and the media (go figure)?  Perhaps she may be angry that these funds, rather than being donated to an authentic children's charity, would be spent on meaningless extravagances at the expense of her daughter's life?  As I understand it, Lance Briggs received both Kelsey's life insurance policies and did not pay a penny toward her funeral.

You say you have "thought for a long time...". Well, if you were interested in truth, you would research all available information on this subject before passing judgment. I have nothing to do with either party in this case so I feel I CAN be impartial. After reading every possible piece of information, I believe your limited understanding of the facts, especially to this date, illustrates exactly how Raye Dawn Smith was convicted in the first place. Yes, I hold you to a higher standard as an editor of this newspaper to provide your readers with thorough research. Had I believed you adequately researched the facts, then I'd know you'd agree Raye Dawn Smith has a solid case for a wrongful conviction. To deny the very real possibility of her innocence is to re-victimize her and that is shameful.

Kelsey was murdered in the presence of Mike Porter, and in the absence of Raye Dawn Smith, whom Mike Porter had sent to retrieve his children while Kelsey stayed with him. Kelsey was sexually assaulted in the presence of Mike Porter alone.

Since Raye Dawn Smith's conviction, several e-mails have emerged, e-mails that show a conspiracy between the grandmother of Kelsey - Kathie Briggs and her daughters - with Mike Porter. Hmmm - something funny going on?  I wonder. How could you communicate with the murderer of your granddaughter?  How valid can a jury decision be when jurors slept through portions of her trial? One juror was actually a member of Kelsey's Purpose, the website established by Kathie Briggs: a simply unacceptable conflict of interest for a juror to have. The cozy relationship between Mike Porter and Kathy Briggs has to raise all kinds of red flags for anyone who looks at this case thoughtfully and objectively. Just a few things to mull around. I just want you to examine these possibilities.

I am an abused child myself. I have great empathy for the real victim in the case, Kelsey Smith-Briggs. No child should ever be abused.  Seems to me, however, that the media refuses to present the real story behind all of this.  I certainly haven't read the truthful facts in your paper and I challenge you to check your facts and get them straight. I think that if you, Mr. Kelley, would research this case more thoroughly, your words will be very different indeed. And I challenge you to get to the bottom of this for the victim, Kelsey Smith-Briggs, and report the FACTS.  Maybe then we'll get the TRUTH.

Wendy Norbom

Ketchum, Idaho