Do as I say, not as I do
A man arrested on a charge that he carried a loaded gun at San Antonio International Airport last weekend was released from jail without posting bail after his friend’s well-connected mother placed a call to a prosecutor.
That mother was Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed.
Some have questioned whether the incident was one of preferential treatment by the tough-on-crime district attorney. Reed herself was under fire in past months for being one of several county courthouse employees who flew on airline tickets later revealed to have been stolen. (Reed has maintained that she and others did not know the tickets were stolen.)
Will somebody tell my why any one who runs for public office even thinks about using her position to help out friends and family? Especially someone who would be prosecuting others should it violate the law, or at the very least, raise it as an ethics issue in a political campaign.
As Jaime Castillo points out, Reed seems to have a different standard for others:
In February, her office tried to force state District Judge Raymond Angelini to recuse himself from hearing all felony cases in the wake of a misdemeanor drunken-driving arrest.
Yet she failed to recuse herself when it came to reviewing claims that Ruben Cantu was wrongly executed in 1993.
Even though she played a minor role in the case as a judge, including denying one of Cantu’s appeals and setting his execution date, Reed refused to appoint a special prosecutor.
And if given the opportunity, she will attack to divert attention from her own lapses. If I remember correctly, in the Cantu case Reed actually mentioned prosecuting the witness who had recanted his story. She didn’t say anything about the police who apparently knew the testimony was changed under pressure but why risk the police vote when it’s just a pr move anyway?
Spare me “what any mother would do” excuse. This wasn’t some 16 year old kid. It was her son’s 25 year old friend. So what exactly has she taught her son when he thinks it’s okay to call mommy up for a favor because of her position? What kind of message has she sent to all of the public servants in the District Attorney’s office?
Technorati Tags: Susan Reed, Bexar County District Attorney
Filed under: Bexar County District Attorney, Susan Reed
