Ethics Newsline®

HOUSTON
An aspiring writer was released from jail last week after spending more than five months behind bars for refusing to turn over notes related to the 1997 murder of a reputed bookie’s wife.

Vanessa Leggett was jailed in July after refusing to submit to the subpoena of federal prosecutors, who were investigating the murder of Doris Angleton, reported ABCNews.com.

Prosecutors say they believe Angleton’s millionaire husband, Robert, hired his brother Roger to kill Doris Angleton during the couple’s divorce proceedings. Leggett interviewed Roger before he committed suicide in prison, leaving behind a note claiming full responsibility and exonerating Robert.

Leggett provided her research materials to state prosecutors for an earlier trial. But when federal prosecutors revived the case and demanded her materials, including all copies in existence, she refused, saying her notes included confidential information protected by her role as a journalist.

Leggett was jailed for contempt of court, with prosecutors alleging that Leggett, who has yet to be published, was not a true journalist and therefore not protected by accordant First Amendment provisions.

Leggett was released from jail last week after the grand jury investigating Robert Angleton closed its term. Federal prosecutors say they may revive the case again soon, putting Leggett’s newly regained freedom in jeopardy.

Leggett’s lawyer, backed by journalist groups, has appealed her case to the U.S. Supreme Court, noted the Associated Press.

“I am not a martyr, and I want to see justice done” in the matter of Doris Angleton’s murder, Leggett said last week through tears, but promised to return to jail if necessary. “If that’s what it takes, that’s what it takes. This is not so much about me. It’s about the public’s right to a free and independent press,” she insisted.