The True Verdict: 1/9/11

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Tucson Blame Game: Time To Dial Back The Rhetoric

As people fall over themselves to assign blame for the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and murder of six others by Jared Lee Loughner, the only thing we can say for sure is that we do not yet know why he did what he did. It is time for people to comfort the grieving, aid the survivors and allow the authorities to do their jobs and investigate the motives behind this abhorrent act. While it is only right and dignified for people to call for greater civility in the public square, we must stop short, for now, of assigning blame to anyone but Loughner himself.

The Editor and Primary Blogger for "The True Verdict" is Peter Romary.

Peter Romary is an attorney, arbitrator, mediator, diplomat, and internationally recognized expert in the areas of risk management, threat assessment and management, conflict resolution, and litigation risk management. He is also an expert in detection of deception and critical interviewing. He has worked and consulted for government and private-sector clients and has lectured to audiences around the world. In 2002, he was recognized by the National Law Journal as one of the “Top 40 Trial Lawyers Under 40 Years Old” in the U.S. He has been honored for his work in 14 states, and has received the highest civilian honors awarded by many of those states. Among his other honors are a knighthood, blessed by Pope John Paul II; the Ellis Island Medal of Honor; the American Police Hall of Fame Honor Award for Distinguished Public Service; and the National Crime Victim’s Bar Association Frank Carrington Champion of Civil Justice Award. In 2010, for his contributions to safety in higher education, Peter received the highest honor bestowed on behalf of the students of the University of North Carolina system: the UNC Association of Student Governments John Sanders Award for Student Advocacy.