OK, it’s getting hard to keep up with this 24-hour news cycle …
This morning we hear that Patrick actually helped pay for Ben LaGuer’s (apparently still flawed) DNA test in 2002, after saying that “his sole involvement” was writing letters on LaGuer’s behalf.
Look, I am not going to make excuses for the candidate and campaign not having their story straight on this one. They should have done their own self-oppo research on this, and when the story hit, pushed everything to the table. This is a big stumble for a campaign that has executed brilliantly for more than 18 months now. My unsolicited advice: Get everything out. Say exactly what Patrick did and when he did it. Don’t run away — take it head-on. Take on the general issue of underfunded DNA labs and rising crime in the Commonwealth, and the importance of getting matters of guilt and innocence right at all costs.
I say this as a Patrick supporter, because Patrick’s actual motivations and actions were honorable. The LaGuer case was and remains quite flawed — in spite of even Patrick’s statement after the 2002 DNA test that “justice was served.” John Silber — no left wing moonbat, he — has come out in support of Patrick’s actions:
“There are a lot of things to go after him on, but on this one he happens to be right,” Silber said of Patrick.
… “Theres so many irregularities in the way the trial and the evidence was handled in Ben LaGuers case that I think a new trial is in order, Silber said.
Look, if you want to keep the public safe, you’ve got to convict the right man. Kerry Healey — for all of her supposed criminology background — has no interest in the complicated history of this case. It’s just a clear opportunity for demogoguery. And these attacks smell of desperation — unsurprising for her being so far down in the polls.
But this is what we should have expected. Her $15 million has got to go somewhere. And make no mistake, the ads will work: Patrick’s lead will shrink. And November will be a scrap.
The Ben LaGuer arrest should be a case study on what not to do in a criminal investigation. I had never heard of Ben LaGuer till last night. It took me all of 10 minutes on the computer to find substantiated evidence that this case is nothing more than a Healey campaign smear tactic and everything about this case is questionable. Deval Patrick is the best political candidate to come along in years. The MA Democratic Party has been stressing unity all year long. I personally would like to see the MA Democratic Party and Rainbow Party respond to this Healy lie together as a team. This tactic has got to stop. It drives me %#!&* crazy.
My aplogize to the Blue Mass Group for online swearing.
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I’m shocked at such language. BTW, you misspelled %#!@@
For both candidates, is (or was) to stay out of the way of the Judiciary’s decision making. ’cause when you listen to the advocates only, you’re hearing only one side, and, sometimes, not often, but sometimes: advocates and lawyers lie.
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Did I say lie? I meant spin.
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You have advocates for the felon saying the DNA is wrong, chain of custody flawed, “it’s so unfair!”. Maybe.
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On the state’s side, there’s a victim (eh? a victim? I though Laguer was the only victim!), a DNA test, some evidence, finally a jury verdict, and a guy (Laguer) who (Laguer’s admission) tried to mislead the DNA tests, and an appeal (yes, with a real judge).
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Outside da joint, you have Patrick, sending the guy money and get-of-jail-soon letters. I’m guessing that Ms. Healey didn’t correspond with Laguer.
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“Yes, I sent a letter,” Mr. Patrick says.
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“Oops, did I say letter? I meant letters.”
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“Money too?” I don’t remember sending money!
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Come on guys: 1st rule of flame control: Truth. Early and often!
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This issue isn’t about Laguer, flawed DNA or phone cord fingerprints. This issue is all Deval Patrick’s.
It is dumb to go after Patrick for this. The trial was, according to many, deeply flawed. So after all these questions Deval helped pay for DNA testing that would help bring to light if they got the right or the wrong guy. The test Deval helped pay for seems to show they got the right guy, so Deval stopped his actions. So what? Let it be!
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It is equally stupid to go after Kerry Healey for the actions of DOC where they let a convicted cop-killer sweep the State House halls.
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Can we get on to substantive issues please?
First, let me state clearly that I think Patrick did nothing wrong in supporting Laguer and his lawyers in their efforts to free someone that I still believe is an innoncent man. Even if he is guilty, there are enough known problems with his arrest, trial and conviction that it’s no shock a civil rights attorney would be very interested in his case.
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However, I also know that only liberal attorneys and Howie Carr’s “moonbats” are likely to share my view.
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Ultimately, the public airing of this issue may even be the beginning of the end of the Patrick campaign. The candidate and his campaign’s handling of this matter has been pathetic. This didn’t just come out! The connection was first reported in the Herald in August (!) at which time the campaign said “A spokesman confirmed Patricks support of LaGuer but said Patrick has not followed the case closely in recent years. ” Now, here we are in October (!) and the campaign is still saying “When we first got questions, we tried (!?) to go back and put together the record. As we got information, we tried (!?) to make it available.” Either the campaign’s opposition research staff is utterly incompetent, the candidate (or his campaign leadership) wrongly thought they could hide the letters and records of financial support, or the campaign is lying.
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Alone, this issue is minor. As it gets spinned and spinned in to a s*it tornado, the campaign’s errors (already charecterized as “lies” by the right-wing media) may honestly bring down his candidacy. I’d bet all I have that there is much much more to come on this and that someone somewhere has a long list of alleged criminals Deval has written a letter, made a contribution to their defense fund, or otherwise supported in his role as a civili rights atorney. What’s in those tax returns he still won’t release? Dozenss of deductions for other “criminals” he has contributed to?
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I’m so enourmously dissapointed by the bungling of this matter and the way it reinforces so many stereotypes against Democratic candidates (we can’t play hardball politics, we’re soft on crime, etc). And I’m fearful this may become the ultimate example of how to lose a 25-40 point lead in a month. Discuss?
That Patrick’s campaign got caught unprepared for this is disappointing. However, this news cycle is still happening, and there is time — today — to staunch the bleeding.
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I do think Patrick should apologize for not giving the whole story of his involvement from the get-go. That’s what looks bad. Everything else is manageable.
… I see no indication that the campaign (the candidate?) understands what a mess this whole thing is still poised to become. The “Who’s Laguer again? and “But someone said the jury was racist” defenses indicate a candidate either not listening to his advisors or getting very bad advice.
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Patrick must apologize today but not just for “not giving the whole story” (how’s that different from lying again?). Patrick’s only hope is to give a complete mea culpa. A long statement, with a timeline of events, a complete disclosure of everything he’s done in contect of the case (most, let’s pray all, before the 2002 DNA tests), and a simple, non-parsed statement like “I aplogize to the victim’s family and the people of Massachusetts for my involvement in this case. In retrospic, it was a mistake which I deeply regret.”
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Nothing short of that will do.
He doesn’t need to apologize to the victim’s family — any more than any defense lawyer would. He might acknowledge that the case has caused them pain, but not an apology. Pursuing justice and a fair trial is not a mistake, and he has nothing to regret, as far as I’m concerned.
apologize for his involvment in the case. There is substantial evidence that he did not recieve what you might call, a fair trial. The police say they “lost” physical evidence such has the handbag and numerous fingerprints. Possible exculpatory evidence was withheld from the defense. Claims of racism on the jury aside, it would appear that Laguer did not get a fair trial. Patrick should apologize for the gross mishandling of this issue, and he should absolutely get everything out now. But the manner in which this trial was conducted suggests blatant civil rights violations, and he should not have to say he’s sorry for making sure a guy, whether he’s guilty or not, got a fair shake from our justice system.