Heath Ledger - the grieving thread

[opinionista]

I'm not upset or offended, Jeff, and I'm very sorry about your friend. But I'll have to say I don't agree.

I just don't think the forensic experts or whoever does those tests and/or announces the results to the public would take the risk involved in creating a fake report. With all the press attention to this, the truth probably would come out eventually, and their jobs and reputations are at stake. Even if they cared about protecting Heath's family, I just don't think they'd go that far out on a limb to do it. Besides, I imagine Heath probably HAS used drugs (even heroin, if you believe those ubiquitous mysterious "sources"), so although none of us want to think drugs were involved in his death it wouldn't be a huge shock or blow to his reputation if they were.

If ... I don't know ... George W. Bush were found dead (god forbid -- seriously) and they discovered evidence of drugs, THEN I'd think they might attempt a coverup. But for Heath Ledger? No way.

Course, I believe Lureen, too. 

True. But if they'd cleaned off the $20 bill, they would have unrolled it.

Obviously I am no expert but Heath's case it really sounds like an intoxication from prescription medication. This is regardless of Heath alleged illegal drug abuse. I don't think he was an actual addict but I wouldn't be surprised if he snorted coke from time to time. That does not make him an addict or a bad person, just human.

Anyway, Heath was using dangerous prescribed drugs that if misused could be lethal. According to wikipedia, Ambien can be highly dangerous.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zolpidem

We need to wait for the coroner's report but it seems like illegal drugs played no role here. Then again, who knows. Anyway, Heath was entitled to have a private life.


 

[serious crayons]

It's not impossible, but I doubt that Intrepid Reporter Ineedcrayons  could just walk in off the street and be granted immediate access to the files.

Based on my intrepid reporting experience  , I'm pretty sure I could. And if not, I'd have a Freedom of Information Act request filed within the hour.

So they could either hand the files over right away, or wait and hand them over after I and the 8,000 other journalists covering the story had written/broadcast our headlines about the police refusal to show the files, suggesting a possible coverup. They know that, so I doubt they'd try to stall.

Illegal substances or not, my opinion of Heath does not change, nor my sadness at his death.

Nor mine, not in the least (I speak as someone who's not a stranger to illegal substances). But I'll be glad if they weren't, just for the sake of protecting him from the conservative radio talk-show hosts, etc.

[Penthesilea]

From Jeff:
Illegal substances or not, my opinion of Heath does not change, nor my sadness at his death.

Nor mine, not in the least (I speak as someone who's not a stranger to illegal substances). But I'll be glad if they weren't, just for the sake of protecting him from the conservative radio talk-show hosts, etc.

Exactly. Additionally, for his own sake. Taking the one or other illegal drug for fun is one thing (I think many of us have done that), but I would be even more sad for him if he indeed had slipped too deep into it.
I wouldn't think any less of him, I just hope he wasn't so down the last months as some gossips say.

[Kd5000]

People Magazine is saying he was very edgy and unhappy over the Christmas holidays in Australia.  He really missed his daughter and his filming schedule was making it even worse.  The article said he had prescriptions that were prescribed in Europe and USA.  If your seeing two different doctors who aren't aware of what prescriptions you are already on, it makes for a very dangerous situation.   I mean, they always ask "are you taking any other medications," but one can say otherwise.   

[Jeff Wrangler]

Based on my intrepid reporting experience  , I'm pretty sure I could. And if not, I'd have a Freedom of Information Act request filed within the hour.

So they could either hand the files over right away, or wait and hand them over after I and the 8,000 other journalists covering the story had written/broadcast our headlines about the police refusal to show the files, suggesting a possible coverup. They know that, so I doubt they'd try to stall.

You seem to have greater faith in government bureaucrats than I do. 

It all depends ... on lots of things. Like who would be willing or wanting to cover something up to protect the family's privacy. The government might be quite willing to sit on the records until the law took its course and required that they be handed over, in hopes you'd get bored or tired and move on. I just don't see some bored civil servant counter clerk, whose vested interest is covering his ass with his supervisors, not serving the public, handing records like these over to you just because you tell him--or her--you have a right to see public records--which you do. I've dealt with people like that in a former job.

But let be, let be. ...

[moremojo]

I think there can certainly be an impulse for a cover-up for any number of reasons; as to whether a cover-up would actually take place is another issue.

The Ledger family, in their initial statements ruling out suicide, struck me as exhibiting an impulse to not even countenance that possibility out of the shame and stigma that still accrue to that cause of death. I mean, could they really, truly know that there was no possible way that suicide was the cause? But I doubt that their feelings would prevent the ruling of suicide as the cause, should the authorities truly come to that conclusion (I admit that no initial findings are pointing to that direction).

[serious crayons]

in hopes you'd get bored or tired and move on.

  Fat chance of that! Nobody's going to get bored and move on from this story just because the bureaucrats stall on the files. That will just pique their interest.

I just don't see some bored civil servant counter clerk, whose vested interest is covering his ass with his supervisors, not serving the public, handing records like these over to you just because you tell him--or her--you have a right to see public records--which you do. I've dealt with people like that in a former job.

Sorry, I don't mean to be argumentative  , but I dealt with people like that all the time when I was a newspaper reporter. I wasn't a full-time cops reporter, but as a general-assignment reporter I often filled in at the police station or courthouse. The desk clerks are very used to dealing with reporters. If they know you, they hand over the files when they see you coming, often making amiable small talk while doing so. Admittedly, many of the journalists in this case would be strangers. But whoever is on this story at, for example, the New York Times (probably a handful of people, in that case) is likely a familiar face to them. Everybody involved, from the chief of police down to the counter clerks, knows the drill. I'm guessing that in this case they might even make copies of the report and hand them out en masse at press conferences just to reduce traffic in the office.

As some random member of the public, you'd have just as much right as a reporter does to see the records. But admittedly, it might be more of a hassle.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Sorry, I don't mean to be argumentative  .

Perish the thought. 

[serious crayons]

Perish the thought. 

  

It's fun to be able to use the laughing smiley again, at least occasionally.

[Meryl]

I personally don't think Heath was suicidal, or that he was overdosing on illegal drugs, but I'm afraid it's already in the public consciousness that one or both of those things was the case.  Thanks to inaccurate, sensationlized reports, the impression has already been delivered.  Just an hour ago, the women on "The View" were discussing it, and one of them repeated the inaccurate report of pills being strewn around and another spoke of him as if he had indeed taken illegal drugs.  Thankfully, Whoopi Goldberg finished the discussion by saying she was not about to believe anything until all the reports were in.

Just now on the local news they showed the Frank Campbell Funeral Home on the Upper East Side.  A crowd of cameramen and reporters were there, just waiting for family or friends to appear so they could get that money picture for today's news.  It was reported that Heath's mother has flown in from Australia to accompany his body back to Perth.