Well, you know, the town
got off easy compared to
some localities . . .
Posted on 04/28/2005 9:05:25 AM PDT by kingattax
PIKEVILLE — Folks in this eastern Kentucky town are demanding an apology from the A&E network after an episode of “City Confidential” that they say was unflattering and unfair.
“Obviously, being labeled the town from hell can not be interpreted in any way as positive,” City Manager Donovan Blackburn wrote in a letter to network.
Blackburn said local residents cooperated in the production of the documentary show, which revolved around murders committed by a group of occultists, after a producer told them the town would be portrayed positively.
A&E had no immediate response to the complaint. A network spokeswoman said Wednesday that Blackburn’s letter is being reviewed.
“City Confidential” is billed as a show that “goes inside a unique American city and explores its colorful characters, its peculiar history, and the truth behind its hidden mystery.”
Blackburn said he watched the show when March 26 and was shocked that Pikeville was portrayed as a hillbilly haven, a stereotype people throughout the region have fought vigorously to overcome.
“You start the piece by showing a rebel flag on Julius Avenue, an overweight man without a shirt smoking a cigarette and an old pickup with a few women in the back,” Blackburn said. “As I am sure you would agree, you can go to almost any city in America and find the same.”
A description of the show on A&E’s Web site describes the Appalachian town of 6,300 as “a place where most kids will do anything to escape. Like in April of 1997, when one Pikeville girl and her five fellow teenagers took a road trip to hell.”
The show delved into the 1997 kidnappings and murders of a Tennessee couple and their 6-year-old daughter by six eastern Kentuckians now serving life sentences in prison. The couple’s 2-year-old son also was kidnapped and shot, but he survived.
Tennessee prosecutors said the six held a bizarre ritual in a Pikeville motel room that included self-mutilation and bloodletting before they left on the road trip. The reputed ringleader of the group, then 19-year-old Natasha Cornett, had told her attorney she was the daughter of Satan.
According to prosecutors, Cornett saw the movie “Natural Born Killers,” decided she wanted to traverse the country killing people and began recruiting people to go with her.
Blackburn claimed in his letter to the network that the show was filled with “unbelievable misrepresentation of fact.” As a result, Mayor Frank Justice II and city commissioners passed a resolution on Monday demanding a public apology.
Justice said he fears the show has put Pikeville in such an unfavorable light that industrial recruiters will find it more difficult to convince companies to move into the town.
“We’re a progressive town,” Justice said today
my town, also in kentucky, has one lawyer for every thousand people. most of the people I live around are either drawing a check from the government or are living off the settlement from a lawsuit.
not our entire state, just pikeville.
They don't need to fight to overcome the stereotype, they need to cease the behavior and lifestyles that gave them the stereotype in the first place.
Well, you know, the town
got off easy compared to
some localities . . .
I remember the case. And, as a KY resident, I watched part of the show.
City Confidential did a show on my KY town as well: the murder of Sheriff Sam Catron. They didn't paint Somerset in the best of lights either, concentrating on the drug trade and the older bootleggin' era. But, that was all part of Sam Catron's story. And, those "bad" items concerning Pikeville was all part of the story of those idiot kids and their killing spree.
."Nice pitcher ya got thar"
If they have an interstate close by, there's a real good reason for so many attorneys. They set you up for speeding on the interstate and add about 10 or 15 mph to your total. That's put it as speeding plus reckless driving. You need an attorney to get out of that. Since they target out of staters, you don't have much recourse. This is also a major source of revenue for the cities and counties. I know because I was nailed in Williamsburg, Kentucky. Cost me $700 to get out of it.
There is nothing wrong with the Rebel Flag. I have one in my garage and the US Flag on my mailbox.
Now you have some idea how we California FReepers feel - but we get multiple daily doses!
Is Pikeville the town where attorneys loved to file class actions, "venue shopping"? Believe there was some article on the subject, American Heritage maybe.
The funniest christmas decoration I saw this year was someone who had put a large rebel flag up in their window, with Santa's face where the two bars intersect.
And, really, everyone else in the state makes fun of Pikeville too. LOL After all, there is a reason that they are in the last bastion of Democrat control in Kentucky!
That's OK. As long as they thank us every four years for our eight reliable electoral votes.
"The reputed ringleader of the group, then 19-year-old Natasha Cornett, had told her attorney she was the daughter of Satan."
Somehow, I believe her.
The spot they did on Atlanta, Georgia was just the opposite. I made downtown look a whole lot better than it is! I think they wanted to do a puff piece on the "New" South. Downtown Atlanta is nothing but government and coruption. If it wasn't the capital (i.e., govenment), it wouldn't exist.
Waiting for A&E to poke fun at NYC's gay pride parade.
Is it the county seat? If so, that would be normal.
Don't hold your breath. They will go get KY to sponsor the broadcast.
The dude who narrates “City Confidential” has the creepiest voice.
The dude who narrates “City Confidential” has the creepiest voice.
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