Troy King and Victims: Justice for Desta

As y'all know, I have criticized Troy King for his positions on victims rights. For those who may not remember my claim, it is a simple one. I have argued that by focusing on particular victims and particular cases which are high-profile and sure to generate media attention, he actually does very little to solve the systemic problems which actually hurt victims. There are many victims of many crimes each year, and it is impossible to personally know them all. However, those in elected office ought to work to solve difficult cases and bring violators to justice.

Well, last week I stumbled on an interesting blog, which you can also visit. It's http://justicefordesta.org, and it is devoted to Desta Dodson-Byrd of Brierfield, Alabama, who was killed on February 25, 1999. Over ten years later, no one has been brought to justice, even though there apparently is a suspect in the case.

The blog published a letter to Troy King on October 2 after his big trip to New York to talk about the Gabe Watson Australia case. The entire letter is worth a read, but I found these paragraphs particularly compelling:

"Mr. King, it's really simple. Yes, it's sad that Watson was so lightly punished, but he was, in fact, punished. And it was done by the authorities who have obvious jurisdiction. You don't have jurisdiction. Not over the Watson case anyway.

But Desta, she was murdered in your fair state, our fair state. And when you were approached just a few months back by people pleading for you to do something, anything, to help find justice for Desta, you didn't even muster up the polite lip-service they'd expected to get from you. Perhaps justice or your concern for it is only for the tv cameras, or maybe there has to be a trip to the big city, the really big city, before you can be too very concerned."

I think these folks understand the situation. There are problems in this state which make it hard for victims of crime to see offenders brought to justice, and those problems should be solved. Perhaps we need more investigators, or we need more crime-fighting technology. These are legitimate priorities, and any AG should make certain that these things are provided for. King, on the other hand, has simply gone to the press conferences and done the tv interviews. Anyone can stand in a suit at a press conference. It takes a true leader, on the other hand, to fight the crime. It's a shame that Troy King has been willing to do the press conferences, without becoming a true leader.