# James Randi and accusations **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 28, 2003, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-randi-and-accusations/198094 "2003-08-28T00:03:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-randi-and-accusations/198094/21 "2003-08-30T18:19:18Z")
Oh, lord, please don’t get **peter morris** started on this one again. Been there, done that, it’s a lost cause: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=181436](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=181436) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=178611](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=178611) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=178616](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=178616) And this is only a partial list. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-randi-and-accusations/198094/22 "2003-08-30T18:20:55Z")
Hey, I’m here to stamp out ignorance, and I’ll do it til my feet bleed, if necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-randi-and-accusations/198094/23 "2003-08-30T18:25:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by peter morris \* > \*\ ***CurtC** > > That isn’t accurate. Randi admitted that he had published untrue and damaging statements without bothering to check their accuracy. The specific allegation Randi made was that the plaintiff, one Eldon Byrd, was a convicted child molester. Not true, he had been convicted on related charges, but not of child molestation. The jury found for the plaintiff, but awarded him $0 damages. > \*\* And the reason for the low award was the fact that Eldon Byrd admitted on the stand that he had sex with a 13 year old girl who he was the guardian of. Sweet guy. Randi was wrong about the “convicted” part. He admitted as much on the stand apparently. [Cite](http://www.skepticfiles.org/skeptic/randi013.htm) Ironicly, being found guilty turned out to be a better result for Randi. Apparently in MD you can appeal a verdict, but not the award. Incidently, the last person who made a major issue out of this was Earl Curley, I lovely USENET kook demi-homeless ‘psychic’ who drank himself to death before Randi’s defamation lawsuit came to trial. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-randi-and-accusations/198094/24 "2003-08-30T18:29:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*Hey, I’m here to stamp out ignorance, and I’ll do it til my feet bleed, if necessary. \*\* Yeah, but at a certain point, you need to take the advice my grandmother gave me: “Never argue with a crazy person.” I’ll leave this one to you, brave soul that you are. By the way, have you met **lekatt**? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-randi-and-accusations/198094/25 "2003-08-30T18:33:29Z")
Oh, and **Peter**? Randi never “published” the comments about Byrd. He made a glib comment about Byrd to a heckler at a lecture. Byrd saw that as a chance to jump on the SLAPP suits that Geller was trying out at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-randi-and-accusations/198094/26 "2003-08-30T19:55:05Z")
Randi made the statement in an interview published in Twilight Zone magazine. Randi accused Byrd of child molestation and attempting to blackmail Randi. Neither claim was true, you can read Twilight Zone’s apology here: [http://www.uri-geller.com/eldon.htm](http://www.uri-geller.com/eldon.htm) “[We] believed Mr. Randi to be a reliable and credible source of information, who was in a position to know the information stated in the interview. We subsequently learned that, in this instance, this was not the case.” Priceless. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-randi-and-accusations/198094/27 "2003-08-30T20:03:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Hey, I’m here to stamp out ignorance, and I’ll do it til my feet bleed, if necessary. Me too, which is why I oppose Randi frequently publishing inaccurate information. ---
**Author:** ![longPath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@longPath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longPath)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-randi-and-accusations/198094/28 "2009-07-24T10:30:45Z")
:smack: Wrong thread [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-randi-and-accusations/198094.md?page=1)