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Census Worker's Death Was Suicide, Not Right-Wing Political Violence

3:09 PM, Nov 24, 2009 • By MARY KATHARINE HAM
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Speculation is often a part of the news cycle, and the circumstances surrounding Sparkman's death were strange indeed. But if I weren't far too fair to jump to conclusions, here, I'd say a lot of commentators acted stupidly in reaching for the storyline that fit their preferred violent, redneck right-winger narrative.

In the end, police determined Sparkman wrote the word "Fed" on his own chest, his hands and feet were bound loosely enough for him to have maneuvered himself, and they found no defensive wounds or anyone else's DNA on him.

Thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends who will now be able to mourn his death without the glare of the national media. (All transcript results pulled from brief perusal of Lexis-Nexis search.)

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