Victims, Revisited

Yesterday, I touched on what I believe to truly be one of the great hypocrisies of Troy King's term as Alabama's AG, that being his position on victims' rights. Certainly, Troy King has spoken out on these issues, but it takes more than words to judge the actions of a leader. Consider this...

Ronald Reagan, a truly great conservative leader, asked voters to consider a basic question in his 1980 election against Jimmy Carter. He asked them: "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" Today, I ask that question of Troy King, and I further ask, can you show me specific examples of how Alabamians are safer today than they were in 2006, when you were elected to your first full term, or in 2004, when you were first appointed? Frankly, I don't feel all that much safer.

Frankly, I see an Attorney General who has certainly "stood" with some victims and their families, but this ignores my essential point that I made yesterday. It is IMPOSSIBLE for any AG to be with every victim, all the time. Certainly, the AG can be there for widely-publicized cases, but the fact is, there are a whole lot of victims out there who will never meet with any AG. Instead, they must be a part of a broader system--the criminal justice system. This process is probably one of the hardest things an individual can go through, and it can truly be like a great maze. Troy King has done nothing to simplify this maze--he has often made it more complex. On issues like the widely-publicized church fires created by Birmingham students, King took the case, held his press conferences, then transferred authority back to local authorities. There was no real reason for this other than his own political popularity. Also, consider this. Over the past term, Troy King has been involved in the seizure of two key cases--one from Mobile DA John Tyson and the other from Shelby County DA Robby Owens. However, by doing so, he has compromised the reputation of two veteran prosecutors (including one who represents one of the most conservative counties in Alabama) who regularly prosecute hundreds of cases each year. By doing so, he has compromised these attorneys. If Troy King felt strongly enough that these DAs were incapable of representing the interests of their counties, he should have fought to take every case from them and do all the work himself. However, Troy King realizes that this is impossible, because District Attorneys perform a vital role in the criminal justice system of this state. They do the dirty work, when no one is paying attention. So, Troy King chose to take widely publicized cases for himself and leave the dirty work to the District Attorneys.

When we look at what's left, what has Troy King done to make us safer? We still have the same expanding drug problem, particularly with methamphetamine use, that we had in the state four years ago. Illegal immigration continues to run rampant. I know this is largely due to federal blunders, but surely our own state should make sure that the laws of Alabama are enforced with regard to this issue as well. We still have cities like Birmingham, which have some of the highest murder rates in the nation, beating even Washington, DC, and New York some years. Back when Jeff Sessions campaigned for AG in 1994, he campaigned on SYSTEMIC reforms to make the system fairer for all parties. He wanted quicker trials, more like the federal prosecution system, so that victims and defendants wouldn't have to wait for years to see justice done in the courts. Instead of focusing on reforms to make our system more efficient as a whole, Troy King has chosen to take particular cases and grandstand on them.

Now, if I'm a Troy King supporter reading this, I ask, what about the sex offender legislation? It is true that the Alabama legislature passed sex offender legislation under Troy King's watch, and this is, by far, his best accomplishment as AG. Case granted. However, I would argue that any AG would have addressed this issue, and King's handling of the matter is far from perfect. In 2005, Carla Crowder of the Birmingham News reported on some inconsistencies with King's actions. Crowder noted that the monitoring bracelets pushed by King wouldn't be required for 20 years, meaning that we won't REALLY be that much safer from sex offenders until the year 2025. Honestly, that's a long time to wait for justice. Additionally, not all folks were happy with this. They may have understood the legal reasons, but they felt uninformed. Randy East of Rushton Child Care Center in Birmingham said: "So the people who are out there today living in my neighborhood would not have to wear them?...I'm really kind of offended that I was not made more aware of it." Like Mr. East, I'm offended, too. I believe an AG should be accountable and explain the pros and cons of any legislation to voters, fairly and honestly.

So, that's what we're left with for a record. As I said yesterday, Troy King has offered plenty of honorable rhetoric. As I said yesterday, I sympathize with victims and their families. Crime is devastating. However, since crime is devastating, that should mean that WE FIGHT ALL THE HARDER TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS LESS OF IT EVERY FOUR YEARS. That's what Ronald Reagan set as the conservative standard, and I set it today--a strong conservative leader should leave his office (or campaign for re-election) on the premise that he has executed it better and more justly than he found the office on his arrival. I ask Troy King--what, in terms of substance, have you done to reduce crime in Alabama? What have you done to prevent folks from offending in the first place, and what have you done to prevent those who have been released from prison from offending again? What have you done to improve upon the records of Jeff Sessions and Bill Pryor, remarkable conservatives in their own right? Finally, what have you done to make the system fairer for those victims who will never be at your press conferences? I'm interested in those victims, and I believe they deserve a voice, too.