The Dunklin County prosecuting attorney has stepped aside in a criminal case with racial overtones, and Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle has been appointed as special prosecutor.
Swingle has been asked to prosecute Kennett resident Heather Ellis. In an incident at the Kennett Walmart in 2007, Ellis was arrested and charged with two counts of felony assault on a law enforcement officer, a count of misdemeanor peace disturbance and a count of misdemeanor resisting arrest.
A scuffle broke out in a checkout line at the store after she was accused of cutting in line.
Ellis’ attorney filed a motion Nov. 2 requesting Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Sokoloff to recuse himself from the case.
Sokoloff was accused by Ellis’ lawyers of "making extrajudicial comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused."
On Thursday, Judge Joe Satterfield denied the request, saying there was no legal basis for it.
According to the defense motion, Sokoloff replied to a story about the case written by Michael I. Niman of Progressive Populist, a twice-monthly publication.
Normally I would file this case under “Who Gives a Sh+t”, largely due to the fact that it seems Heather Ellis, certainly in this situation, was the type of as*hole you want to avoid at any cost and are relieved if and when they finally shut up and go away. And I’m not one to buy into the racism nonsense, which is a phrase that is only reported nationally when used by the professionally seething blacks whenever the extremely large chips on their shoulders are disturbed (or they imagine are disturbed) and more often than not used to rally around some of the most loathsome and vile characters within the black community that all it really accomplishes is to alienate anyone other than equally touchy blacks and those of other races with guilt complexes.
That aside, what bothers me about this case is the possible draconian prison sentence Ms. Ellis may be facing. I’ll concur all evidence points to the fact that she was offensive, abusive and perhaps even guilty of some minor crimes but other than the fact she is probably an offensive as+hole (which is more of an annoyance than a real crime) the case against her is largely chickensh+t. America has a serious problem with jailing people, often for long stretches and too frequently for what until recently has always been seen as minor incidents, the only so-called felony being “assaulting an officer” after they cut themselves slamming you to the ground for “resisting arrest”. Oddly, these charges stand on their own with the initial charge (why the cop was stopping you) is dropped.
Americans need to wake up to the fact that they are setting world records jailing people (whites, blacks, and all others included). And they need to realize they should be alarmed and not gleeful someone else is “getting what’s coming to them”. We have the only Prisons for Profit system in the world, where very wealthy corporate enterprises (one of the fastest growth industries the past two decades) make lots of money for every one they throw in jail. You and I pay it in our taxes, pay off these rich profiteers. That, on top of a government that’s getting more authoritarian every day, should scare the living crap out of everyone; not to mention a complete violation of the fourth amendment as well as corruption and obscene perversion of the judicial system. Instead people laugh with glee that someone they dislike is “going away” and only cry when it happens to someone like them.
Blacks and whites need to forget the whole idiotic race argument here and talk about real justice, which means getting back to a system that doesn’t throw the book at everyone, sometimes for merely bad social gaffs and behavior. Probation and public humiliation would be about as severe a sentence Ms. Ellis needs here, certainly not prison. As+holes are everywhere and I don’t like them any more than the next guy or gal but I sure don’t think filling up our Prisons for Profit system solves anything other than turn us into a modern nightmare.
Comment by zflynn — November 17, 2009 @ 7:30 am