Judge, jury, executioner, and CNN presenter Nancy Grace is being sued by the family of a guest she �cross-examined� on her show. The guest, Melinda Duckett, went on the show in the hopes that it would help in the search for her missing 2 year-old son. Just hours after being badgered by Grace she committed suicide with her grandfather�s shotgun.

Nancy Grace, a former criminal prosecutor known for her combative technique and helmet hairdo, shouted at the emotionally fragile Duckett during the show and demanded she take a lie detector test, against the advice of her lawyer. “Where were you? Why aren’t you telling us where you were that day?” she shouted, pounding her desk.

William and Bethann Eubank, Melinda Duckett’s parents, filed a nine-page wrongful death suit against Grace. They claim her accusatory questioning of Melinda caused the “severe emotional distress which was a cause or proximate cause of her death by suicide”. They also allege Grace and her producers committed “fraudulent misrepresentation” to get Miss Duckett to agree to the interview, telling her it would help find her son. They failed to inform her “that once she appeared on the show, Nancy Grace would subject her to outrageous conduct such as severe interrogation, fist pounding and veiled accusations that she was responsible for her child’s�disappearance and death”. The claim also mentions that CNN broadcast the interview after Duckett�s suicide to “improve their ratings”.

Writing for Entertainment Weekly, novelist Stephen King, said that Grace “almost certainly bears a responsibility for [Melinda Duckett’s death] even though she denies it.” Grace, however, refused to accept responsibility. Unaware of what it means to be innocent until proven guilty, Grace said in an interview, “If anything, I would suggest that guilt made her commit suicide. To suggest that a 15 or 20 minute interview can cause someone to commit suicide is focusing on the wrong thing.”

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Joe Scarborough had a panel discussion on Grace’s interview.