Newspaper stands by quotes attributed to O.J. defense witness p.27

By: Dorothy Giobbe A CONNECTICUT NEWSPAPER was forced on the defensive last week after reporting that a criminologist in the O.J. Simpson murder trial said the police should have considered Simpson's son, Jason, a suspect in the brutal double slaying.
Dr. Henry Lee, a major defense witness, accused the Meriden Record-Journal of "completely" misquoting comments he made during an address at a rotary luncheon in Wallingford.
According to the Record-Journal, Lee was asked by an audience member if the police should have investigated anyone else for the murders of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson. Lee, who had asked that his comments during the luncheon be off the record, reportedly responded, "Jason."
Donald Schiller, managing editor of the Record-Journal, said that after Lee spoke, he approached the Record-Journal reporter.
"He told our reporter not to use his comments, and that if we did, he would deny that he made them," Schiller said.
Shortly after the newspaper printed Lee's remarks, the criminologist called a news conference to deny that he had singled out Simpson's son.
What he actually said was that no one could be ruled out as a suspect, Lee said.
"I responded that everyone, including Jason ? or even me ? were suspects in a case like this until proven otherwise," Lee told the New York Post.
Schiller said the Record-Journal "absolutely" stands by its reporting. While other media picked up the story, not all of them got it right, he said.
"What surprised me was some of the TV coverage of it," Schiller said. "One station described Lee as the victim of 'an apparent misunderstanding.' I don't know where that came from because there was no misunderstanding."
Last week was the second time Lee has accused the press of misquoting him. Last spring, the Bridgeport Connecticut Post reported that Lee accused the LAPD of framing Simpson. After the story ran, the criminologist said he had been referring to the inadequate evidence-examination tools that were given to him by the prosecution.