Here's a letter sent to Judge Warren Darrow.
Greetings Judge Darrow:
I'm writing regarding the sentencing of Mr. James Ray. I'm not writing in favor of Mr. Ray per se, even though I think the jury got it wrong. (As someone who's sky dived, I'm a big believer in personal responsibility. These people knew the risks they were taking.) Rather, I'm writing against cheating Prosecutor Sheila Polk. I'm asking you to "sanction" her by denying this grandstanding politician what she wants most
from this very public trial: by denying her jail time for Mr. Ray.
As documented in Ray's motions regarding Brady, you know Mrs. Polk lied to you in court and withheld evidence. In fact, you found Mrs. Polk violated Brady on April 13. You consistently threatened that these violations would result in a mistrial.
Quoting Mr. Kelly, "You stated that this is not going to be a trial by surprise." And, regarding the inadmissable audio, "You cautioned the state by saying, 'If it's admitted at
trial, it's admitted. If it's not admitted, then it's right into mistrial.'" But for whatever reasons, you never pulled the trigger. This is your last chance to pull it and grant some poetic justice.
Look, this problem of prosecutorial misconduct is becoming more and more rampant. It undermines the integrity of the judiciary. Unfortunately, even federal judges
seem powerless to stop it. (Cf. The late Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens and admitted misconduct by federal prosecutors to derail his re-election.) Something needs to be done
in a tangible way to deter prosecutors from cheating. Denying them a reward for cheating is one solution.
I've attached a recent news story about this very thing. A former Texas prosecutor was found to have withheld exculpatory evidence in a death penalty case. Fortunately, a new prosecutor did the right thing, saying "This office will not be a party to the infliction of death as a punishment when there is even an appearance of impropriety on the part of a prosecutor who formerly worked in this office." As a direct
result, the defendant's sentence was commuted.
The Texas defendant's attorney remarked that the original prosecutor is a criminal. Unfortunately, what Mrs. Polk has done is criminal too. Not only that, she's violated her constitutional oath, something that, during Andrew Thomas, she said she takes very seriously. Apparently not. You would be doing her and us a favor by sanctioning her.
In the Texas story, the defendant's attorney said, "Prosecutors who want to cheat won't cheat if there's a penalty attached to it." Amen?
It is within your authority to likewise "commute" Mr. Ray's sentence due to prosecutorial misconduct. In essence, you would be granting a "mistrial" without the expense of a re-do. Kind of Solomonic.
Mr. Ray has suffered enough already at the hands of Mrs. Polk and her political grandstanding for local and national press. Per your oath, you need to hold her to her oath. You need to penalize her for cheating to deter her from doing it to someone else again! Please! You are our last resort.
In the interest of Justice,
