Of course, I support Mark Plants in his bid for Prosecuting Attorney.  Mark is a great guy with a strong background and a great family.  He is young and aggressive, just what you need in the Prosecutor’s office.

But, I want to give you the two quotes of the prosecuting attorney candidates about the Desmond Clark case (the Taco Bell murderer) and let you decide for yourself.

Plants quote on WSAZ, “We need to help victims overcome their fear of testifying against these monsters in court.  I mean we have domestic advocate programs and we need to educate these victims to help them overcome their fears of testifying.”

Plants opponent, Bill Murray, “If indeed it turns out that he was the perpetrator, (if it turns out) he was the gunman, then he’s blown his last chance and he needs to go away.”

(that’s crickets chirping)

If indeed it turns that the 15 witnesses in Taco Bell are all lying.  If it turns out that the murder weapon was actually the murder weapon, and if it turns out that Clark himself was actually guilty, THEN, and ONLY THEN should he go away.

And, thankfully, Bill feels finally that THIS is his last chance.  Always good to know that the Prosecuting Attorney REALLY feels that someone who guns down his ex-girlfriend in cold blood in the middle of Taco Bell has FINALLY blown his last chance.

Holy smokes.

This is the dude the Democrats put up to prosecute criminals in Kanawha County?

Plants is a fighter, obviously, as evidenced by his days as a bruising tailback at WVU.  (One has to wonder where Mark would be right now if he was in a system that utilized him similar to how Owen Schmitt was used (as in the system invented by ‘He Who Must Not Be Named’).  Plants was Schmitt-like before being Schmitt-like was cool.

But, outside of that Plants actually is the one with experience in this race.  He is the only one who has actually ever prosecuted a criminal.

Murray has spent his career representing murderers, armed robbers, kidnappers and people of those ilk.

Look, maybe my irritation comes from the knowledge that the kingpins at the County Courthouse have annointed this Bill Murray dude as Prosecutor. 

Of course, I’ve been in politics now for 14 years and I wouldn’t know the guy if he walked by me on the street until I just saw him on WSAZ.  And, my guess is that while all the courthourse crowd is atwitter, no one outside of the building has ever heard of Bill Murray, outside of Caddyshack.

So, the kingpins have claimed that we need someone with experience to run the courthouse.  Don’t get me wrong, Murray does have experience.  He has a long line of defendants and has even represented murderers the ilk of Ricky Holley (remember the guy that stuffed his wife in a toolbox and tossed her into the river)? 

Its kind of ironic that Murray would be supposedly fighting for the rights of domestic violence victims when the people he represents are stuffing them in toolboxes.  Maybe I’m the only one who sees the irony.

And, while certainly everyone has a right to a legal defense, ask the murderered girl’s family in the Ricky Holley case if Murray and his team of lawyers didn’t go “above and beyond” to keep Holley out of prison even after the evidence was so overwhelming that the jury threw the book at him.

If that is the type of ‘experience’ we want, then I’ll take someone who has simply been as Assistant Prosecuting Attorney actually prosecuting criminals every time.

Look, let’s be honest.  Everyone has a right to an attorney and not all people who defend murderers and rapists and sex predators are bad people.  I just don’t want someone who has represented murderers, armed robbers and kidnappers as our Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney.

I think most of the public has grown weary of these sweetheart deals some of these criminals get.  And, to me, when you live in the world of defending murderers, your make up is one of compromise and cutting deals.  You could hear that in the Clark quote.  I mean, come on, everyone saw the guy charge into Taco Bell and kill the girl.  But, even with that, Murray can barely bring himself to THINK the guy is guilty.  Typical defense lawyer and the last attribute we need in a Prosecuting Attorney dealing with murderers and rapists and child molesters.

How in the world do you defend Ricky Holley and then turn around and say you are going to get tough on crime?  I’m sorry, it doesn’t work and it won’t sell to the people of the county.

OK, again, I don’t know Bill Murray.  I couldn’t pick him out of a line-up until the SAZ interview.  But, maybe my view on the Prosecuting Attorney’s office is different than most.  I don’t want someone who has defended murderers and sex predators as my Prosecuting Attorney, call me crazy. 

I don’t care if the courthouse gang tells me to vote for him or not.

I’ll take Plants.