Globe columnist Eileen McNamara, in some ways the Globe’s most predictably liberal opinionator, published a glowing column about Middlesex DA candidate Gerry Leone today. It focuses largely on the case of Louise Woodward, the British nanny who was convicted in the death of 8-month old Matthew Eappen in 1997 – a case that Gerry Leone prosecuted.
But the column goes beyond praising Leone’s role in that case to directly question the claim that Jarrett Barrios is the “progressive” candidate in this race:
Leone’s opponent, Senator Jarrett Barrios of Cambridge, has tried with little success to position himself as the more progressive candidate in this campaign, but such labels as “left” and “right” are more useful in the State House than in the courthouse.
Both Leone and Barrios support gay marriage and oppose the death penalty, but those positions are likely to be of less consequence to voters than the fact that Leone is a career prosecutor with experience in the county, state, and federal arenas, and Barrios has never prosecuted a case. That’s why Representative Michael E. Festa of Melrose endorsed Leone after deciding to drop out of the race to run for reelection. It is why he has Coakley’s support, too.
She then says it’s “too simplistic to characterize one man as a politician and the other as a prosecutor” (a point with which I agree, as explained at greater length here). And then, in the part of the column that comes closest to an explicit endorsement of Leone, she writes (emphasis mine):
The differences between Leone and Barrios are less about emphasis than experience. Both are devoted fathers who want safe streets for their children. Both understand the role in crime played by drugs, poverty, and family dysfunction. But the district attorney’s office also is about the administration of justice, and a man who has managed a Massachusetts Senate staff is in an unfair fight with a man who has run a statewide Criminal Bureau in the attorney general’s office and an office of more than 100 lawyers as the first assistant US attorney in Massachusetts.
Ouch.
Nobody remembers anything. Many lawyers felt that Woodward prosecution was mishandled by the prosecution, in that Woodward was overcharged (2nd degree murder). This led to Judge Zobel’s decision to reduce the charge to involutary manslaugher and free Woodward with time served. It was a big mess at the time, and part of a pattern of perceived overcharging, going all the way back to the Fells Acres case, that has plagued Middlesex County for some time.
I recall that Tom Reilly got a fair bit of flack for the charging decision – and, as important, the decision not to submit lesser charges to the jury, thereby essentially forcing the jury either to acquit or to convict her of second-degree murder. And I remember that Reilly was personally quite involved in the case, though he didn’t take the courtroom lead (Leone did that). What I’m not sure about is whether the charging decisions were controlled by Reilly or Leone – and maybe that cannot be publicly known, since I’m sure they talked about them a lot.
Reilly, the obtuse gutless d.a. wanted the most serious charges to be brought.
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Other than Barry Schecht (wrong spelling) the defense team was an embarresment. Leone was the opposite.
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My favorite part in the trial was the cocky attitude of Harvey Silvergate, one of Woodward’s attorneys, before verdict was read and watch his face as reality set in.
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Something never sat right with me on that case. I forget many of the details of it but I remember havingf some doubts.
peson who is going for Leone. Forget the fact that she didn’t officially endorse Leone, she is a newspaper writer and I don’t think that collumists are allowed to offically throw their weight behind someone. A paper can and I wouldn’t be surprised if both the Globe and the Herald goes with the Sun which has already endorsed Leone. All this means is that there is someone else out there that recognizes that Leone is the best person for the DA’s office. She talked about the Woodward case because he was the primary mover on that case. She is right when she says its an unfair race because Leone not only has far more supporters he also has far more experience
I think it is extremely unlikely that Leone will get the Globe endorsement. The Globe loves Jarrett Barrios and has never had a critical thing to say about him. They give him an absurd amount of access, and the staff (with the exception of Eileen McNamara) always likes the candidates who cater to them. Barrios has aggressively cultivated relationships with the media, and that will be a different obstacle for Leone to overcome.