‘More to tell’: Karen Read, lawyer Alan Jackson talk about plans on ‘The Howie Carr Show’
Asked on "The Howie Carr Show" whether Karen Read is exploring a civil lawsuit against "the powers that be" after two murder trials and her acquittal nearly two months ago, her attorney spilled no secrets.
"I can say this: I'm back for a reason," the attorney, Alan Jackson, said Thursday afternoon. The high-profile lawyer from Los Angeles has become practically a household name in Massachusetts for those who have followed the years-long case.
"Certainly, nothing is off the table," he added.
A Norfolk County jury acquitted Read of second-degree murder and manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene. She was found guilty of drunk driving and received a year of probation.
Pressed by the host on whether a lawsuit could be filed in state or federal court, Jackson again played coy.
"Yes," Jackson said with a laugh. "I don't know at this point ... We're exploring all those options. So we'll see."
The interview then veered into the wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of John O'Keefe, a Boston police officer she dated and who died in January 2022. Prosecutors accused her of backing her Lexus SUV into O'Keefe after a night of drinking.
The allegations in the wrongful death lawsuit follow closely those made by Norfolk County prosecutors and blame Read for "immense emotional trauma." The family also named two bars that Read and O'Keefe went drinking at the night before his death.
"I think the civil action that's been filed against Karen, they're going to have a very, very, very significant uphill battle," Jackson said. "Very obviously, the jury has spoken. It's not like there wasn't an enormous amount of scrutiny that was put on through all the evidence against her."
Carr asked Jackson how much he thought Read could stand to win from any civil action.
"The question is, how much is a life worth?" he asked. "How much is her reputation worth? How much is her professional reputation worth? ... She's lost all of that."
Read shares life updates post-trial
Post-trial life isn't exactly what Read expected.
"I was expecting a switch to be flipped that was the opposite of the one that got flipped on me at 6 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2022," Read said. "But it's more like a dimmer, that the lights are coming on a little brighter each week."
"There's moments I have every day, I have these little epiphanies of, 'wow, this is the first time I've done fill-in-the-blank in the last four years that I wasn't living with this nightmare,'" she added.
Read said she sold her house between the two trials and was "scraping to afford one trial."
She lost her job at Fidelity, and she felt "lucky every day" that she worked there and worked with "brilliant people."
"That was not just a job, that was my career and I still miss it," Read said.
Asked if she could ever return to that job, Read said, "I don't know if I can hop back on the commuter rail and walk through South Station every day. And I have other things I need to do, in terms of illuminating what I've seen the last four years now."
Read also addressed news that broke this week that actress Elizabeth Banks is poised to portray Read in a limited series in development by Prime Video and Warner Bros Television.
"There is more to this story ... There's a lot more to it than what I think Elizabeth Banks knows at this point, but I've never spoken to her," Read said.
"I did not bless this, no," she said when asked if she authorized the series.
As for her next moves?
"I'd like a book out there. There's just a lot more to tell. A lot of what it took to fight this, that was behind closed doors. I think people would be very interested in that," Read said.
More about the case
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