Something happens to let us all know that transparency there is still a foreign concept:
Judge denies Sun Herald’s request to see letters written on behalf of Byrd ~ Margaret Baker
Maybe I’m spoiled as sentencing letters are routinely released in criminal cases both the Federal Mississippi Southern District Courts and the Louisiana Eastern District Courts thus my opinion that Judge Steele’s decision concerning former Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd is absolutely wrong. (For an example of the quality journalism that can come from an analysis of sentencing letters click here.) Byrd not only gets a sweetheart plea deal he also gets to keep aspects of that which went into the accompanying sweetheart sentence a secret.
Steele sentenced Byrd to six months’ home confinement, followed by six months probation in the federal corruption case. The charge stemmed from the June 2012 arrest of a man accused of stealing a deputy’s patrol car and leading officers on a chase into Mobile County. Byrd admitted kicking the man twice in the groin after he was handcuffed, then ordering deputies to erase or destroy the evidence.
Substitute “Byrd” for the man who did all of the above – Byrd would be lucky not to have been killed in a hail of bullets. If a mundane had kicked an officer, he would be beaten to a pulp, tasered and/or shot. And erasing & destroying evidence i.e. public records is a felony. Nice to get misdemeanor time on all of the foregoing, anyone of which is a felony.
And we should not dismiss the other outcomes – a mundane is not entitled to continued pay and pension accrual all the while incarcerated, and doesn’t have his attorney fees paid by the taxpayer unless he gets an overworked defender, if income qualified. Given Byrd had all the incentives to engage in this activity in the first place, with reasonable belief of no liability whatsoever given the usual immunities, one is surprised Byrd didn’t simply shoot the guy and not have to waste time on house arrest.
Doug, this merely shows when you are a member of the tax eating class, you get different treatment from that meted out to the tax producing class. The Sun-Herald, though, won’t run with that observation, now will it?
They came as close as I’ve ever seen a newspaper on that observation. Then again that may be our job here.