The television game show, Jeopardy is making headlines after Thomas Hurley III came in second place and lost $3,000 due to a spelling error.

Thomas, a 12-year-old boy from Newtown, Connecticut, a contestant during Jeopardy! Kids Week feels like he was cheated during the final question Emancipation Proclamation.

The final Jeopardy question was about a Lincoln-centric "famous document.

"Abraham Lincoln called this document, which took effect in 1863, "a fit and necessary war measure," host Judge Trebek asked the contestants.

Thomas knew the answer, but spelled it wrong as "Emanciptation."

The judges ruled the answer as incorrectly.

"Well, because he misspelled it badly," Trebek said during the show, "That's unfortunate, the judges are ruling against you."

Thomas was disqualified due to the spelling errorr. He explained that he was was "upset that [he] was cheated out of the final Jeopardy! question", due to a simple error.

"It's a kids' tournament! Everyone knew what he meant," Thomas said.

Suzanne, Hurley's mother, said that she was disappointed and embarrassed for her son. She described the entire scene as "difficult to watch."

Though the spelling error seemed like a small mistake, Jeopardy! officials explained their reasoning for the disqualification.

"If 'Jeopardy!' were to give credit for an incorrect response... the show would effectively penalize the other players... We love presenting young people as contestants on our show and make every effort to be fair and consistent in their treatment," the statement read.

At the time, Thomas was in second place with $9,600 in total winnings. He lost $3,000 on the final answer.

However, even if the answer was spelled correctly, he would've received $3,000, but still would have finished in second place. The winner won $66,600.

Thomas is very thankful that he was chosen to appear on Jeopardy! during Kids Week. He explained that everyone close to him have been supportive of his appearance on the show.

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Jeopardy