Ashley Juddis calling for change following thedeath of her mother Naomi Judd.
In a guest essay forThe New York Timeson Wednesday, theDouble Jeopardystar, 54, opened up about how the aftermath of her mother’s suicide has made hertake legal actionto protect grieving families from unwarranted intrusion into their private lives.
“The trauma of discovering and then holding her laboring body haunts my nights,” Ashley wrote inThe New York Timesabout her mother’s April 30 death, adding that it was “the most shattering day of my life.”
Ashley and Naomi Judd.Theo Wargo/WireImage
“In the immediate aftermath of a life-altering tragedy, when we are in a state of acute shock, trauma, panic and distress, the authorities show up to talk to us,” she wrote, adding that she was too shaken to think through her answers or even begin to consider her own questions about privacy.
“I felt cornered and powerless as law enforcement officers began questioning me while the last of my mother’s life was fading,” she added. “I wanted to be comforting her, telling her how she was about to see her daddy and younger brother as she ‘went away home,’ as we say in Appalachia.”
Ashley added that she was also trying to “decode” what had happened to herself as well, and so “shared everything” with law enforcement in a way to piece it all together.
Ashley Judd, Naomi Judd and Wynonna Judd.Ke.Mazur/WireImage
The actress acknowledged that it wasn’t the police officer’s fault that this happened, saying the “police were simply following terrible, outdated interview procedures.” Yet she added that the experience left her feeling interrogated, stripped of sensitivity and even considered a possible suspect in her mother’s suicide.
TheBugstar then explained her family’s decision tofile a petition to seal the death investigationon Aug. 12 in a Tennessee court.
The filing was made on behalf of the late musician’s husbandLarry Stricklandand both Ashley and her sisterWynonna Judd.
“This profoundly intimate personal and medical information does not belong in the press, on the internet or anywhere except in our memories,” Ashely explained inThe New York Times.
“We ask because privacy in death is a death with more dignity,” she added.
“Though there will be inevitable questions about our decision to assert what we believe is our legal right to protect our privacy in this specific matter, we stand united as a family and hold fast to our belief that what we said and did in the immediate aftermath of Naomi’s death should remain in the private domain — just as it should for all families facing such devastation.”
The Emmy-nominated actress also extended compassion forVanessa Bryant, who was recentlyawarded $16 millionin the trial surrounding Kobe Bryant’s crash photos.
“We feel deep compassion for Vanessa Bryant and all families that have had to endure the anguish of a leaked or legal public release of the most intimate, raw details surrounding a death,” she wrote. “The raw details are used only to feed a craven gossip economy, and as we cannot count on basic human decency, we need laws that will compel that restraint.”
She added, “I hope that leaders in Washington and in state capitals will provide some basic protections for those involved in the police response to mental health emergencies. Those emergencies are tragedies, not grist for public spectacle.”
source: people.com
