Not everyone is happy with Troy King’s latest grandstanding. Okay, that’s a rather obvious statement — really more like an understatement. But at least one person was sufficiently exercised to write a pointed letter to the editor:
Let me get this straight: A 16-year-old shooter cannot be put to death, because the Supreme Court of the United States said so. Shelby County Presiding Circuit Judge Mike Joiner, considering the recommendation of District Attorney Robby Owens, then ruled it would be fundamentally unfair to execute the shooter’s 19-year-old accomplice who did not pull the trigger. We can’t execute the shooter, so it would be unfair to impose a harsher and life-ending punishment on the nonshooter. Perhaps that makes some sense; what ought to be done is more important than what can be done.
Fundamental notions of basic fairness might suggest that, even though we can do so, we ought not execute the accomplice when we can’t execute the killer. The sense of “balance” is lost.
In any event, it is clear reasonable people could differ. Having known Joiner personally for years, both as a man and as a judge, I am quite confident he made his ruling carefully and prayerfully. I am equally confident Owens searched his conscience and soul dutifully before arriving at his recommendation.
In light of that, I find it utterly disgusting that our rambunctious attorney general, Troy King, has the unbridled temerity to label our Shelby County officials as “incredible and outrageous” and then to fire Owens from the case. As The News reported, however, Republican Owens had supported Republican King’s Democratic opponent in the last election – as did I and many other Republicans concerned over the apparent fact King has never tried a single jury trial in his life.
With the vindictive war King has waged against Bessemer Cutoff Circuit Judge Dan King and now against the Shelby County justice system, it makes me hope Alabama Power Co. will get Troy King some more baseball tickets, if only to get him out town for a few hours. (P.S. I am not related to Judge Dan King, and certainly not related to Troy King.)
Lawrence T. King
Birmingham
I can tell you from personal experience1 that Troy King does not take public criticism well. Expect an indignant response to be published in the next day or two. And for some reason the Birmingham News never holds Troy to that 200-word limit.
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1I wrote a letter to the editor criticizing King a few years ago; he fired back immediately and at length. Since then I’ve noticed that he always responds — he can’t help himself.
And here’s an interesting (jaw-dropping) read about the King/Castaldo affair. http://www.lagniappemobile.com/article/1040
If the link isn’t active, copy and paste it into the url address line. This is a two part series from a Baldwin County alternative (I suppose) newspaper.
[...] Birmingham Blues also re-prints a letter to the editor from Lawrence King (no relation) With the vindictive war King has waged against Bessemer Cutoff Circuit Judge Dan King and now against the Shelby County justice system, it makes me hope Alabama Power Co. will get Troy King some more baseball tickets, if only to get him out town for a few hours. [...]
Sansou, Lagniappe covers stuff on the Eastern Shore, but it’s based in Mobile and focuses mostly on downtown Mobile. Hate to carp, but gotta stick up for my local, poorly-copy-edited, unafraid to print the juicy stuff biweekly.
He just wants to make sure his name stays in the news.
“He just wants to make sure his name stays in the news.”
Exactly!