Response to John Hawthorne

While we respectfully acknowledge the good service to NC given by John Hawthorne as special agent with the SBI, we feel that we must protest his description of Debbie Key, as he had presented in the NC Wanted production, "The Disappearance of Debbie Key."

Mr. Hawthorne describes Debbie as a woman who may be bribed by the offering of alcoholic beverages by strange men in a bar, into granting favors of accompaniment.

Those of us who knew Debbie Key when she was still with us feel this description is unfair and inaccurate. We know this person to be of a more ladylike character, who maintained strict sexual boundaries, even among her closest friends. She was not at all the kind of person who would use her feminine charms to solicit drinks from strangers, but quite the contrary.

Debbie was a lady in many ways. She did not even approve of having "salty" language spoken in her presence, and had gotten her friends used to saying things like, "gosh darn it."
All the single guys in our circle of friends knew that it was okay to ask her to dance, to enjoy a hug now and then, but not to expect it to go any further than that.

Friends of Debbie Key have not attempted to paint Debbie up as an angel, though she was angelic at times, but have always admitted that Debbie liked to drink.
This to us did not make her a bad person, and certainly not a person who deserved to die for saying "no."
Please do not punish us for our honesty, but try to give our friend more credit than that.

Readers and viewers of Debbie's story are advised to wear filters concerning such descriptions of her character.
Debbie was a lady, and she did not practice such habits at the bar, or anywhere else.
We see this as just another example of the "blame the victim" syndrome.
We do not, however, blame Mr. Hawthorne as the originator of this interpretation
Your comments are welcome.