dadaLab
All the Histrionics With None of the Responsibility
RECEIVED Tue., Sept. 27, 2005
Dear Editor,
In his critical comments about my letter concerning the execution of Frances Newton ["Postmarks," Sept. 23], News Editor Michael King essentially accused Assistant District Attorney Roe Wilson and police investigators of an 18-year criminal conspiracy to deliberately conceal evidence and perjure themselves before the courts.
He also challenges the finding that the unbroken chain of custody directly links Newton to the murder weapon, as reported by the Texas Attorney General's Office in its filing to the Supreme Court (reported by Associated Press writer Michael Graczyk on Sept. 14th: "Texas Black Woman Scheduled for Execution").
In his enthusiasm to challenge Newton’s sentence, Michael King exhibits all the histrionics you would expect from the editor of a junior college newspaper with none of the responsibility.
OK, Editor Mike, if the police and prosecutors have internally conspired to conceal evidence and commit perjury, then they are corrupt and guilty of criminal conduct. You insinuate the charge even if you lack the courage to make it directly. Isn’t it the Chronicle’s responsibility to follow this up to some resolution, or do you intend to drop it in favor of the next socially correct issue of the day?
In his critical comments about my letter concerning the execution of Frances Newton ["Postmarks," Sept. 23], News Editor Michael King essentially accused Assistant District Attorney Roe Wilson and police investigators of an 18-year criminal conspiracy to deliberately conceal evidence and perjure themselves before the courts.
He also challenges the finding that the unbroken chain of custody directly links Newton to the murder weapon, as reported by the Texas Attorney General's Office in its filing to the Supreme Court (reported by Associated Press writer Michael Graczyk on Sept. 14th: "Texas Black Woman Scheduled for Execution").
In his enthusiasm to challenge Newton’s sentence, Michael King exhibits all the histrionics you would expect from the editor of a junior college newspaper with none of the responsibility.
OK, Editor Mike, if the police and prosecutors have internally conspired to conceal evidence and commit perjury, then they are corrupt and guilty of criminal conduct. You insinuate the charge even if you lack the courage to make it directly. Isn’t it the Chronicle’s responsibility to follow this up to some resolution, or do you intend to drop it in favor of the next socially correct issue of the day?
Richard Turpyn
Alexandria, Va.
Alexandria, Va.
[News Editor Michael King responds:
Despite his melodramatic rhetoric, Richard Turpyn continues to rely on an AP summary of the prosecution's argument for his "facts" about the Newton case and to ignore anything that contradicts it. Alas, it doesn't require a sinister conspiracy for unjust capital prosecutions in Texas. All that's necessary is an overzealous, politicized prosecution more interested in convictions than in justice, a willfully incompetent court-appointed defense counsel, and a public eagerly blind to the actual process of capital prosecutions. No doubt courts are much more enlightened in Virginia, which annually competes with Texas for per capita executions, with equally high standards of due process.]
