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Lucid
02-13-2004, 09:30 PM
Paper Publishes Poem Written By Man Who Admits Killing Daughter

The man who admits to beating and torturing his 3-year-old daughter to death last month wrote a poem from his jail cell dedicated to the child. The poem was published in the Booneville Sentinel.

Michael Riley is being held in the death of his daughter, Alexis. Family members say the little girl was bruised from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet, her skull fractured. Alexis lived for several days in critical condition before she died at UK Children's Hospital

The publication of the poem has outraged Owsley County residents. In his chilling poem, titled "Daddy's Little Girl, God's Little Angel" Riley writes "It was only true to take your daddy's heart, because you were daddy's little girl from the start. But in an instant your life was taken from me. Now I sit here sad and lonely. I wonder why God picked my one and only."

"I just think it was inappropriate they would print that from the person that murdered this little child," said Owlsey County resident David Combs. "I think the man's disturbed."

Riley faces murder and abuse charges. His girlfriend, Doroth Birch, faces complicity to murder and abuse as well as tampering with evidence.
http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=1640128

I'm apalled a newspaper would print this .

Michele
02-13-2004, 10:08 PM
It should be retracted with an apology to the family.

GracieMae
02-13-2004, 10:17 PM
It should be retracted with an apology to the family.

I agree. Disgusting :mad:

kingclick
02-13-2004, 11:10 PM
Well I don't see it as that bad. The guy is a murderer but maybe in his own "dumb" way, he is trying to atone.

The circulation of this "paper" is only about 2000. It's not like this paper is some bastion of journalistic ethics. It's just a community weekly.

It's very sad and sick what happened to this baby. Please don't get me wrong.

SallyzSoul
02-14-2004, 02:09 AM
I also can't believe that the paper printed something like that by someone like that. What is this world coming to?

Have you heard about the new cookbook? A death row last meal cook book. How sick.

Beelzebub
02-18-2004, 12:40 PM
This is no different from convicted "authors" who publish work in jail or authors who write about their life/case for them.


What about the authors who write about another man's crime? Is that any different? Many criminal novels have been written about a true event with very little or no resistance from the people. Only difference is that the author is respectable whereas the convict is not.

What about those who commit and live a life of crime and then publish a book about it? Glorifying their achievements over the law and their ability to survive prison? People still buy those and read them.

To me all of those books are tasteless ego massaging tripe but people will but them with no complaint, as they want to read it. I see this poem going the same way.

It's about personal opinion. Rousdi wrote the satanic prayer and subsequently is now a wanted criminal in the Arab world, his punishment is death. People like to read this type of material. Why? People like reading about sex, death and violence. Love in all its forms is another. Some of the greatest stories ever written are primarily violent and cover death. To some, this poem will be disgusting; to others it will be beautiful.

Restricting works of art and literature is a double-edged sword. It may protect those who do not wish to see it, but it infringes on personal freedom of others.

kingclick
02-18-2004, 01:38 PM
Very good points B.

Are you talking about Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses"?

Beelzebub
02-18-2004, 07:23 PM
Very good points B.

Are you talking about Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses"?

Yup, my mistake. Satanic Prayer was written by someone else.