Ramseys reject lie detector tests, for now

John and Patsy Ramsey said they would not take the FBI's lie detector exam; they want a 'truly independent third-party' to conduct the test

Attorney: Police made 'offer they knew would not be accepted'

April 25, 2000
Web posted at: 7:34 p.m. EDT (2334 GMT)

From staff and wire reports

BOULDER, Colorado (CNN) -- The parents of JonBenet Ramsey will not take lie detector tests arranged by the Boulder Police Department because the examiner who was to have administered the tests was not "fair and independent," their lawyer said Tuesday.

John and Patsy Ramsey, in recent interviews that coincided with the publication of their book, "The Death of Innocence," had said they would be willing to take polygraph tests in an effort to clear their names in the Christmas 1996 murder of their daughter.

The Boulder Police Department this month had offered to schedule the tests for the parents, saying the arrangements for the tests met conditions the parents set in a March 23 television interview.

"Obviously, we're disappointed that the Ramseys have declined to take the polygraph exams after very publicly saying they would," Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner said in a written statement. "However, our offer still stands, should the Ramseys decide to change their position."

The Ramseys had specified that the exam be conducted in Atlanta by an examiner independent from the Boulder Police Department and that the results be made public. Authorities had hoped to complete the tests by Wednesday.

The Boulder Police Department had made arrangements for an FBI specialist who had no prior knowledge of or involvement in the Ramsey case to conduct the exams. But the specialist was deemed unacceptable by the Ramseys.

Ramsey attorney Lin Wood said the Ramseys want a "truly independent third party" to conduct the exams. "The FBI is not independent of the investigation," he said.

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"I know what the spin will be against John and Patsy," Wood said. "The spin can be created that they offered and refused.

"If there's any unreasonable or lack of fairness in this," Wood added, "it's coming from the Boulder Police Department. ... They made an offer they knew would not be accepted."

Last month on CNN's "Larry King Live," John Ramsey said he and his wife wanted the lie detector test to be "fair and independent and we want the results to be made public."

"If police have confidence in the lie detector test, it seems to me that if we pass it, they ought to say we're cleared," he said.

No charges have been filed in the Christmas 1996 strangulation and beating death of the 6-year-old beauty queen, though authorities have said the parents remain under an "umbrella of suspicion" even after a grand jury investigation failed to return an indictment in the case.

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October 27, 1999
Ramsey grand jury discharged; no indictments issued
October 13, 1999
JonBenet grand jury deliberations resume today
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Police costs relating to JonBenet homicide top $1.3 million
October 12, 1999
JonBenet grand jury nears end of term
October 11, 1999
Forensic expert meets with Ramsey case prosecutors
October 10, 1999
CNN In-Depth Specials - The JonBenet Ramsey Case
March 1997

City of Boulder: RAMSEY Press Releases
Boulder District Attorney
Inside Denver - Ramsey Story Archive
DenverPost.com - JonBenet Ramsey Murder Case
Ramsey Family Statements
Ken Polzin Jr.'s JonBenet HomicideWeb Sites Page
Halle's Web Guide to the JonBenŽt Ramsey Case

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