Our readers know current big business/insurance company supported Supreme Court Candidate Bubba Pierce has been making lots of new out of state friends lately. Former Supreme Court Justice Fred Banks, Chair of the Special Committee on Judicial Election Campaign Intervention, has taken a dim view of what Bubba’s new friends are saying as we reported yesterday. Mr Banks went a step further an released a copy of the letter he sent to Bubba’s campaign letting him know he is responsible for the slander contained in the LEAA ads against Bubba’s opponent Current Justice Oliver Diaz. Anita Lee has the story for the Sun Herald including reporting WLOX has belatedly pulled the ads:
Supreme Court candidate Randy “Bubba” Pierce said he had nothing to do with misleading and inaccurate advertisements run about his opponent, incumbent Justice Oliver Diaz, but a judicial elections committee wants Pierce to tell ad sponsors they should stop their attacks.
A group called the Law Enforcement Alliance of America, whose supporters are anonymous, has attacked Diaz on television with inaccurate and misleading claims about his Supreme Court rulings, implying Diaz supports killers and rapists. A direct-mail print ad that supports Pierce in the Southern District race says out-of-state trial lawyers are trying to buy the seat, although campaign-finance reports reflect few contributions for Diaz from outside Mississippi.
The LEAA television ads, which the Sun Herald first reported to be false and misleading, have run throughout the district. Although Leon Long of WLOX-TV in Biloxi did not return a telephone call requesting comment, Diaz campaign manager Christie Yoste said Thursday afternoon the station agreed to pull the ads after almost two weeks of air time.
“I’m so glad they did the right thing,” Yoste said. “Those ads should not have been run to begin with because they are obvious distortions.”
The Special Committee on Judicial Election Campaign Intervention, created by the state Supreme Court, denounced the advertisements Wednesday in a news release. Pierce’s campaign said it is suspect that he was the only candidate cited over the MFEP ads, even though they appeared in Supreme Court races across the state.
Poor ol Bubba is feeling picked on. I can only imagine how his opponent felt when the false and misleading LEAA ad’s ran that lied about his votes on cases involving child molesters and baby killers. Here is the letter written by former Justice Bankscalling Bubba Pierce to task. Notice the bob and weave on Pierce’s part trying to make this about the Chamber of Commerce commercials run on his behalf when Mr Banks speaks only to the LEAA ads:
Certain television ads have been brought to the attention of the Special Committee on Judicial Election Campaign Intervention. These ads are being run by the Law Enforcement Alliance for America and attack Justice Diaz based upon votes in particular cases.
The Special Committee has concluded that these ads are violative of the Code of Judicial Conduct in that they urge judges to behave in a partial rather than impartial manner in deciding the cases before the court.
Accordingly, the Special Committee requests that you do the following:
(1) State whether the television ads were in any way authorized by you;
(2) If authorized, cease and desist, from further use of these ads;
(3) If it was not authorized, advise the organization, Law Enforcement Alliance for America, that the ad is not authorized and that it is your desire that the organization cease and desist from further use of this ad.
Because of the fact that the election is less than 10 days from now, the Special Committee must act expeditiousiy. Accordingly, it will issue the press release in the form attached to this letter regarding this matter.
The fact that DIAZ did NOT resign after he was wrongfully accused shows fortitude and INNOCENCE. The fact that he stuck it out speaks volumes about this man. As far as the ‘baby rape and murder’ case, that did NOT occur period. Steven Hayne and the court system denied Jeffrey Havard his exoneration by FAILING to provide a rebuttal witness to the now defunct Hayne. Any idiot could see this guy is INNOCENT. I know if for a FACT. Have seen the LACK of evidence Since his conviction, real State Medical Examiners have examined the state’s evidence…there is very little. They have concluded without a DOUBT that NO RAPE OCCURRED and that Mr. Havard’s version of accidently dropping the child after a bath is consistant with the findings. Had the hospital not taken 20 minutes to get this baby intubated then most likely she would have lived. They DEPRIVED her of oxygen for way too long. So yes, Diaz is right and HONORABLE for voting in favor of Havard. Or are you guys in Misssissippi still KILL-HAPPY even if the guy is INNOCENT…..nothing like a good Saturday night lynching is there?
The LEAA doesn’t seem to like the fact that Oliver Diaz ruled according to the law in the two cases that he actually participated in. That fact and the fact their ads benefit his opponent Bubba Pierce is what is frightening to me.
Mississippi doesn’t have the market cornered on miscarriages of justice Gadget and you need to lose such sterotypes borne of ignorance if you want to be taken seriously here. Spouting off at the mouth that way neither helps your cause nor Oliver Diaz.
sop
Gadget, the group sponsoring the ad is NOT from Mississippi
LEAA is affiliated with the National Chamber of Commerce – that’s the group you need to shout to about the situation.
Ollie has friends on this site.
LEAA is affiliated with the National Rifle Association Nowdy. Mississippians for Economic Progress are US Chamber.
Notice how on Sid Salter’s blog he lets Pierce’s campaign manager confuse the two. Read Pierce’s response to Banks and blow it up against Fred Bank’s letter that singles out the LEAA ads.
Bob and Weave. Silly season in progress…..
sop
sop, My sincerest apologies for making a blanket statement to Mississippians. Unfortunately there are THOSE who will ‘buy into’ this propaganda about Diaz and the cases he supported. I live in NC and we also have under-handed ads, etc which infuriate me as they are juvenile in nature and akin to small children hurling insults at one another.
I do hope that Mississippi votes Diaz back in. He has the GUTS to take a stand and not give into the ‘good ole boys’ club. I have been there myself. It is an uphill climb.
Diaz is just giving a JUSTICE SYSTEM a good old fashioned spanking. Guess one could compare it to disciplining a child…it doesn’t make you popular even though it is the ONLY and RIGHT thing to do.
I also would hope that people will realize that simply because someone has been found guilty does NOT mean they truly are. There are many aspects to a case and events can be distorted in court. Look at the EXONERATIONS already achieved through DNA because someone gave the benefit of the doubt instead of sticking a lethal injection into an INNOCENT person.
I personally KNOW for a FACT that Havard is INNOCENT as are many others I am fully AWARE of. I did NOT take the defendant’s ‘word’ for it. I did my own investigation. I am still reeling from what I have learned from CONCRETE EVIDENCE in Havard’s case, the Henry Moses case, the Tyler Edmonds case, the Brett Jones case and the Devin Bennett case. Dr. Steven Hayne was used as an ‘expert’ forensic pathologist in ALL of the cases. Hayne is NOT a forensic pathologist nor has he EVER been board certified. He walked out on the EXAM for the Medical Examiner’s certification. These are FACTS.
The ‘big boys’ in politics have KNOWN about these atrocities since the mid 90’s yet continued to let Hayne perform autopsies and testify at trials.
He perjures himself from the git-go by stating he is ‘board certified’ yet he cannot recall (how convenient) WHO certified him. So any ‘testimony’ spewing from his mouth afterwards should have been inadmissible…period.
He is NOT supposed to over 250 autopsies a year according to N.A.M.E. yet he claims to do 1500-1800 a year (he get $550.00 a pop) and testifies at 2-4 trials a week. When does this guy sleep for chrissakes?
So in essence he is running a production line and a sloppy one at that. There are eye-witnesses to the fact that Hayne went from one body to another without changing gloves, cut the clothing off of several bodies/victims at one time and threw them into the same garbage bag without taking fiber samples that would have proven valuable to law enforcement working the cases. It was also witnessed that the bodies were ‘washed down’ with a HOSE PRIOR to autopsy which doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know what that means…
Diaz, thank God, was apparently aware of Hayne and is unethical practices and the controversy surrounding this man. Diaz took a stand on the side of GOD and that was to do the RIGHT thing and vote in favor of these appeals. He saw error and reasonable doubt which is part of the due process our constitution guarantees.
Hayne was terminated by Mississippi August 2008. (Thanks to the hard work of The Innocence Project)N.A.M.E was getting ready to kick his butt out and do an investigation on him…so he resigned to avoid the this. I spoke to the chairperson of the Ethics Committee personally and this is exactly what he said.
I would hate to think that my life depended on Hayne. And Diaz was cognizant of the same apparently.
The people of Mississippi had better pray Diaz is re-elected since they could easily be in the shoes of the INNNOCENT on DEATH ROW!
There but for the GRACE of GOD go I.
Just go to http://www.theagitator.com and type in Steven Hayne in the site’s search engine. This will tell you what has been going on in your backyard.
I must warn you, it is a hair-raising experience…but then it is Hallowe’en.
Much better Gadget and thank you for clearing up the earlier misunderstanding.
We are very Oliver Diaz friendly here and also very familar with that quack Dr Hayne who has blood on his hands IMHO.
Ollie Diaz is a man of the people instead of big business. I suspect he’ll continue ruling according to the law instead of the highest bidder.
sop
sop, I will be in Jackson, Ms. on November 4th the day after my visit to death row. Believe me, I am praying with every fiber of my being for Diaz.
It would be another TRAVESTY of JUSTICE if he does not win.
A man is morally free when, in full possession of his living humanity, he judges the world, and judges other men, with uncompromising sincerity…George Santayana
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it…George Santayana
If this is the same group attacking Diaz I’d say they are repeat offenders?
Law Enforcement Alliance of America
Posted on 09-30-2004 12:01 PM EDT
The Law Enforcement Alliance of America [501(c)(4)] has been sued by a pair of Texas Democrats whom the group targeted with attack ads in 2002, the Austin American-Statesman reported Tuesday.
The lawsuit charges that the LEAA violated a state prohibition against the use of corporate money to influence Texas elections and claims the LEAA also violated Texas law by failing to disclose its donors.
The LEAA spent an estimated $1.5 million on TV commercials in 2002 that accused attorney general candidate Kirk Watson of making
This organization is a FRAUD. They claim to support and represent law enforcement officiers but were founded on the issue of Teflon-coated bullets which were designed to kill police officers.
“In 1986, most national law enforcement organizations broke ranks with the NRA when it opposed a bill that would have prohibited the manufacture of Teflon-coated bullets capable of penetrating police officers bullet-resistant vests. A few years later the NRA supplied funding to start the LEAA in order to get law enforcement support for the gun lobby agenda…”
http://www.bradycenter.org/ler/leg/leaa.php
Even today they have this false statement on their web site regarding funding—
“””The Law Enforcement Alliance of America (LEAA) is recognized by the United States Treasury Department as a non-profit organization under IRS Code Section 501(c)(4).
Due to LEAA