Malvo mom's interviews
published: Monday | October 6, 2003
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I write in regard to the infamous "sniper case" in the U.S. and the unfortunate involvement of the young Jamaican, Lee Malvo, in this tragedy.
I saw parts of two interviews done with Una James, the mother of Lee Malvo. The first one was done by Ian Boyne on CVM TV, in which Ms. James made quite a spectacle of herself, obviously playing to the cameras and showing no regret for the tragedy nor sympathy for the victims of the vicious, cold-blooded killings allegedly carried out, in part, by her son.
Instead, she was more intent on letting her audience know how well brought-up she was and how the US government was really to be blamed for the sniper tragedy as she had tried to warn various agencies of John Muhammad (Malvo's mentor), but that no one would listen. However, what was even more disturbing to me, was the role played by Boyne, who treated the interview in a flippant and frivolous manner which clearly encouraged Ms. James in her grand-standing, which was carried out in a loud and raucous manner.
I was happy to see that Ms. James was a completely different person in the second interview conducted by Stone Phillips of NBC. She was sedately dressed (the knee-high boots were gone), she spoke in subdued tones, her mood was one of penitence and she expressed regret for the incident and sympathy for the victims' families. More importantly, she took responsibility for her role in the tragedy, as she acknowledged that she had been less than an ideal mother.
It was apparent that Ms. James was wisely advised prior to her second interview and it is only a pity that she was not better advised and guided prior to or during her first.
