Alabama authorities have reportedly launched an elder abuse investigation centered on beloved novelist Harper Lee.
Officials with the state's Human Resources Department and the Alabama Securities Commission began investigating Lee last month. The investigation got underway as concerns arose about the circumstances of the pending release of Lee's second novel, "Go Set a Watchman," the New York Times reported Wednesday from her hometown of Monroeville.
Investigators spoke with Lee last month at the assisted living home she lives in, called Meadows of Monroeville, responding to at least one complaint lodged with the state over concerns that Lee may be a victim of elder abuse, the Times reported.
Speculation about Lee's mental faculties and lucidity has been rife in the weeks since Feb. 3, when her publisher, HarperCollins, announced that "Go Set a Watchman" would be released this summer.
Many have pointed to the fact that Lee has said for decades that she would never publish another novel after the classic "To Kill a Mockingbird" as one potential reason to doubt the veracity of repeated statements released via HarperCollins that suggest that she is aware of and on board with the plan to release the book.
Skeptics also point to the fact the fact that her sister, lawyer and longtime defender Alice Lee died just months before the announcement of the novel's planned publication. Alice had indicated in the past that her sister was not lucid enough to be considered capable of understanding and signing legal documents. There have also been numerous reports over the years from those who know Lee that she is almost deaf and blind and that she has suffered from a stroke.
The Times reported that she does have problems with her hearing and sight, but that some people who know her believe that she is mentally aware and sharp, and they point out that she uses a special machine to help her read.
But other friends and acquaintances of Lee's told AL.com and other publications last month that they believe she is being manipulated by her lawyer, Tonja Carter, and that she is mentally in no position to make important decisions.
Janet Sawyer, owner of the Courthouse Café, a Monroeville eatery the Lee sisters used to frequent, believes Carter is taking advantage of her famous client.
"I don't think she agreed to do it. I think it's her attorney being greedy, because Ms. Lee was a very private person who didn't like a lot of publicity," Sawyer told AL.com last month.
Alabama probate judge Greg Norris, who also serves as Monroe County Commission president, does not agree with that reading.
"Ms. Carter has been with the Lee sisters for many, many years, and she is a first-rate lawyer," he told the Times.
An unnamed doctor cited by the Times said that he filed a complaint with the state out of concern about her situation. Once such a complaint is filed, the state generally launches an investigation to determine whether any abuse has been carried out.
A state investigator who declined to be named by the Times told the newspaper that Lee was able to answer questions and seemed sharp when authorities interviewed her last month.
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