CNN's Nancy Grace: passion for justice, or "personal jihad"?

NEW YORK — Anybody who believes Nancy Grace was chastened by the suicide of a young mother following their tough television encounter doesn't know Nancy Grace.

The prime-time prosecutor continues to focus nearly full-time on Melinda Duckett, piling up evidence to point to the Florida woman's guilt in the disappearance of her 2-year-old son, Trenton, all with the support of her bosses at CNN Headline News.

The case points a spotlight on the hard-charging Grace, who has quickly joined Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann among the most polarizing personalities in cable news.

"I remain dedicated to the ongoing fight for crime victims everywhere," Grace said in a statement to The Associated Press.

"Right now, our focus is on helping find baby Trenton Duckett safe and sound, and we will pursue the case until there is a resolution."

Melinda Duckett, named Thursday as the primary suspect in her son's disappearance, shot herself on Sept. 8, a day after taping the interview. Grace questioned her about what she was doing on the day Trenton disappeared, pounding her desk and asking: "Where were you? Why aren't you telling us where you were that day?"

While Duckett's ex-husband is among the people who say Grace shouldn't shoulder any blame in the suicide, questions were raised about CNN Headline News' sensitivity in airing the interview after knowing Duckett had killed herself. Portions were rerun again Thursday.

"I don't fault Nancy Grace for asking the questions," said MSNBC host Joe Scarborough. "That's her job. That's her shtick. She's an entertainer. The problem is what happened afterward. She's gone on a personal jihad against this woman. At what point does CNN step in and say 'enough's enough?' "

Scarborough's show last week paid almost as much attention to Grace's conduct as Grace did to the Duckett case. He calls Grace a "runaway beer truck" and said CNN Headline News gives her free rein because of her importance to the network.

A CNN Headline News spokeswoman dismissed that assessment as absurd.

Kenneth Jautz, CNN Headline News chief, said he hadn't spoken to Grace about her coverage and said he saw no reason for her to change.

"Nancy is passionate and outspoken about crime and the rights of victims, particularly in children's cases," he said. "I think that comes across in the show. I think she's been very successful because of her passion, because of her no-nonsense direct approach."

By any measure, "Nancy Grace" is a hit. It has also helped CNN Headline News transform itself: After more than two decades of running constant news updates, the network made Grace the star of its first real show in February 2005. Ratings for the time slot tripled almost overnight, and Grace frequently gets a bigger audience than Paula Zahn on CNN.

Her show airs twice in prime time, live at 8 p.m. and repeated at 10.

Grace went to college to be an English teacher, but her life changed in 1980 when her fiance was killed in a mugging by a man out on parole. Convinced that victims were overlooked in the criminal justice system, she became a prosecutor in Atlanta, then a quick-witted and forceful pundit for Court TV and other outlets.

True-crime stories have become a genre unto themselves on cable TV, with Grace and Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren leading the way to especially strong ratings last summer following Natalee Holloway's disappearance in Aruba.