Slain Gay’s Family Hikes Demand in ‘Jenny Jones’ Case

PONTIAC, Mich. —  A lawyer for the family of a slain gay man who is suing the producers of the “Jenny Jones” talk show made an emotional plea Wednesday for a $71-million judgment in the lawsuit, expected to go to the jury today.

Attorney Geoffrey Fieger, who accused the show of driving a Michigan man to murder his gay admirer by humiliating him in an episode about same-sex secret crushes, raised his damage demands from $50 million in closing arguments in the wrongful death case.

The jury will get the case after more than five weeks of testimony from more than 40 witnesses.

Fieger represents the family of Scott Amedure, who was shot to death by Jonathan Schmitz in March 1995, three days after the two appeared on a taping of the “Jenny Jones” show.

With a stone-faced Jones sitting behind him in the courtroom, Fieger told the jury that Amedure’s parents best summarized the case against her popular syndicated program.

“Frank Amedure said, ‘I wish my boy had never gone on the ‘Jenny Jones’ show. He’d be alive today. And they ruined the life of that other boy [Schmitz] too. I miss him [Scott] every day,’ ” Fieger said.

Fieger told the jury the show exploited guests in order to boost its advertising and syndication fees. “This is a case about exploitation and ultimately responsibility.”

James Feeney, lawyer for Warner Bros., distributor of the “Jenny Jones” show, told the jury that Schmitz was the only one to blame for Amedure’s death.