Tough lessons from 'D.C. Madam' case

WASHINGTON - Police in Tarpon Springs, Florida are reporting what may be a tragedy—and a cause for soul-searching in the Justice Department. The police say that Deborah Jeane Palfrey, nicknamed the “D.C. Madam” after she was prosecuted in Washington for running an escort service, has apparently committed suicide. They said her body, and suicide notes, were found in a shed near a mobile home in Tarpon Springs. Read more

Ms. Palfrey was convicted last month in D.C. of racketeering and money laundering in a trial that produced squalid testimony by a string of former “escorts” who said they did, indeed, peddle sex when they worked for Ms. Palfrey.

Under the sentencing guidelines she stood to get a prison sentence of from four to six years at a sentencing hearing later this month. Early in the case Ms. Palfrey projected an almost casual, this-can’t-be-happening-to-me attitude, but she seemed stunned by her conviction. Justice Department prosecutions of escort services are rare, and it was obvious that she had never thought it would come to this.

There is much yet to be learned about this sad affair. But I raised a question in this space on the first day of the trial, and it bears repeating in light of what has happened:

“The most perplexing question is why the prosecutors are pursuing this case. They have given no indication that the “D.C. Madam” case is part of a broader campaign against prostitution by the thriving escort business. No similar cases have been brought. Palfrey’s attorneys claim they are punishing her for giving them a hard time n an unrelated case. The government should not prosecute a citizen for such a reason, and if the prosecutors have a proper reason, they should declare what it is.”

– Fred Graham, In Session senior editor