Miscarriage of Justice

Mark Lunsford (search) was here in New York City on Wednesday and we spoke in private about his murdered daughter Jessica. I don't want to violate Mr. Lunsford's confidence, but I can tell you he is brokenhearted, as any loving parent would be. He wanted to thank me for keeping the heat on Florida authorities who have totally botched the case. And I told him that most Americans are with him and we will get something done.

As you know, prosecutor Brad King will not charge three people who protected Jessica's killer, and helped him hide and flee from police. For three days, Jessica was alive in the trailer where those three were living. She was horribly abused during that time, and finally buried alive, clutching her stuffed dolphin.

Most legal experts I've spoken with have told me that King could charge these people if he wanted to. And it's now quite clear that Governor Jeb Bush will not involve himself with the case. Bush could force King to do his job.

Contrast this gross miscarriage of justice with the runaway bride situation in Georgia. Here we have a troubled woman charged with a felony to which she pleaded no contest today. Jennifer Wilbanks (search) could have been allowed to walk. But the prosecutor, Danny Porter, wanted to send a message. If you abuse the police and the community, you will pay a price. So Ms. Wilbanks will pay a fine, continue to undergo therapy, and serve probation.

But the three people involved in the Jessica Lunsford murder have paid no price. Police say documents, police documents, I should say, say they all are involved with drugs. Certainly they aided a vicious child killer. Yet they skate, while Wilbanks is prosecuted.

There's something desperately wrong here and every American should get involved. We've posted Brad King's information on www.billoreilly.com. And anyone can place a call to Governor Bush.

Maybe public pressure can force the Florida authorities to right a grievous wrong. But Talking Points is not confident that will happen. So later, we'll take a look at the federal option. Little Jessica was kidnapped before she was murdered. That's a federal offense. Nine year olds have civil rights, too. They're Americans, too. If Jessica's family had money and power, believe me, those three slugs would be in prison today.

I promised Mark Lunsford I would fight for justice for Jessica and for him. And I will. And I hope you will, too.

And that's The Memo.

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

There's a nasty little brawl taking place within The New York Times. It seems that paper's outgoing ombudsman, Daniel Okrent, has accused Paul Krugman (search), a columnist, of distorting information to back up his far-left point of view.

Now, you may remember I said the same thing to Krugman's face in the debate I had with him on CNBC. So this is kind of ironic.

If you want details, you can go to The New York Times Web site. There's really nothing new here, other than The New York Times finally wising up.

By the way, that newspaper's laying off 200 people. I have a segment with Neil Cavuto on that tomorrow evening, and Cavuto, as you know, is never ridiculous.