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OPINIONS
Voice of the people
McGraw the best pick for AG office
I want to express my support for the re-election of Attorney General Darrell McGraw.
Let's be clear -- I do not offer this support from the perspective of the typical party alignment type of politics. I offer this position with direct experience with McGraw and his staff.
For the past 16 years, I have volunteered to serve on the board of directors of a county governmental organization. By law, the attorney general's office is the legal counsel of record for this organization. During this period, his office has consistently represented the interests of the citizens of the state.
As West Virginia's chief legal officer, he offers written opinions and advice of law to state and county officials and other heads of institutions. Whether it be studying the fine details of law, fighting consumer fraud, working to put criminals behind bars or aiding seniors, it is obvious that this attorney general has a tradition of working for West Virginians. It is also obvious that his deep West Virginian roots and Christian values are ever present in his character.
I believe that West Virginians are well represented by Darrell McGraw, and this Republican encourages citizens to vote to support his re-election.
Clint R. Hogbin
Hedgesville, W.Va.
Changes must be made in HPD
Huntington needs to work on getting some police officers who really care about the public. I'm sure that some of them do, but recently I have seen that the police around here are on some big power trips. They take pride in being jerks to people.
I was recently in a cell phone store downtown with my girlfriend, and I noticed a cruiser sitting out front with a bike rack on the back. So while inside, I told her, "There must be the new bike units that have been patrolling the streets." The cop noticed us looking and got a serious attitude and asked if there was a problem. I said no, and he preceded to bully me saying, "Well what are ya looking at?" I told him I can look wherever I want because he was being a jerk and he unjustly searched me without probable cause and found nothing. So I asked for his badge number, and he told me that I would get nothing from him and told me to leave. All this when I was just looking at a new phone.
The power trips were ridiculous from that officer. I didn't think they were allowed to refuse a badge number. In conclusion, cops are not always out to protect and serve. He should have been working, not browsing for phones in the first place. Our tax dollars should go further than that. I even had a handgun stolen from my basement, and the cops never even showed up to make out a report.
There need to be some changes made ASAP for everyone's sake.
Daniel Cartwright
Huntington
Due process for the best and worst
This is in response to the letter on Aug. 21 titled "Why are we funding al-Qaida's defense?"
The writer expresses outrage that a presumed enemy, Osama bin Laden's driver, is receiving due process. This calls into question her support of the Bill of Rights. Does a defendant have to be a bona fide saint before our Constitution begins to apply to him? Such a requirement would tend to force defense lawyers to schedule their trials post mortem, inasmuch as sainthood is rarely achieved in one's lifetime.
An important presupposition of our legal system is that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven otherwise. With this presupposition comes all the safeguards of individual liberty, including the right to a speedy trial, the right to call witnesses on one's behalf, the right to face one's accusers and the right to an adequate defense. For this last-mentioned right pro bono lawyers are provided. Such are the earmarks of a democracy.
In my view, the letter writer needs to consider whether she would feel less outrage in a country such as Egypt or Turkey, where the legal system would seem to agree with her that the principle of equality before the law need not be squandered on riffraff. If due process is not applied to the worst of us, then the best of us will soon lose it also.
Rev. Jack Wilkinson
Huntington
