Thoughts on this site

This site is entitled "Scott Libby Memorial". I have documented the initial unfolding of the tragic event which took Scott from us too soon, created the photo album, and publicized a few other relevant sites such as Jenn Raymond's touching memorial site and the online obituary text and guestbook. Although called a memorial site, my secondary purpose for the site was as a portal to publicize important information for out-of-towners, notably the memorial service. That purpose is now largely over, at least until a trial date is set, which could be some time into the future.

While I think that important new information should continue to be posted, I find myself currently wondering where to draw the line. Should I continue to post a link to every news story that appears? I doubt that every news story from here to the trial will contain information that is useful to us, Scott's family and friends. Certainly they will not all be easy to read. Perhaps I should only post links to stories that contain new information, not just rehashed from another source? Less clear is what if the information may be new, but consists mostly of distressing details or allegations which do not really contribute much to our understanding of the case? Sensationalism?

I have already made a decision on one aspect of that: I am not going to link to blog articles about the case, which by their nature tend to go beyond the strictly factual, into the realm of reaction, opinion, and even rumor. The case is beginning to lend itself to that, unfortunately, but I don't think any useful purpose is served to us, Scott's friends and family, by documenting all of it. More importantly, although we are obviously not impartial, we also don't want to jeopardize the case by appearing to be promoting a trial by public opinion, or getting involved in the politics that the case has the potential for. If you are interested in that sort of commentary, you know how to use Google.

But, what do you think about news stories? Responsible editorials? Or other purposes for this site? What do you want to know about, or expressly do not want to know about? Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts.

As always, thank you all for your support to Scott's family and friends during this time.

- John

P.S. I hadn't remembered I had set the comments such that only registered users could post one. I have for now set them to be open, so that anyone can comment, even anomymously. Sorry for the confusion. I will monitor them of course to prevent abuse.

New Details Released

New and distressing details have been released concerning Scott's murder. These include an official cause and method of death, and more of Samson's account of what happened. The story is in the Lewiston Sun Journal for Thursday, March 26. (The same story was also printed in the Portland Press Herald.)

Arrest made in Scott's death

State police have charged a Bethel man with killing his former employer, then leaving his body in a car on railroad tracks, where it was hit by a train.

Police charged Agostino Samson, 23, who previously lived in Windham, in the death of Scott Libby, 25, of Raymond.

For details, see news stories in the Media Links section. Scott's family is not commenting on the case.