Got Closure?

So Edwin Hall has pled guilty in the murder and rape of Kelsey Smith. That shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone who has remotely paid attention to the case, and really who could avoid paying attention? From day one the media has been on this one like ticks on a dog. Kline has trotted out the Smith family at every opportunity, in fact I'm hard pressed to recall a single press conference where the Smith's weren't seated next to , or within camera shot of Kline. Kline claims that the decision to let Edwin Hall plead out and avoid the death penalty was to allow the Smiths closure and avoid the pain of a long trial and the subsequent appeals process.

May I call BooooolSheeeeet on this one? Kline was bungling this case from the git go. The judge chewed his ass on more than one occasion for improperly handling, withholding and general underhandedness regarding the evidence in the case. Phil considers it a victory, I say he is serving up shit on a Ritz and passing it off as caviar. Kline allowed the plea, not to save the family suffering, not to give them closure, but to save his case. There is no doubt he would have won a conviction in front of a JoCo jury, but the appeals court would have thrown it out like my second ex threw me out, after I honestly answered yes, when she asked me if her skworts made her look fat. I hate skworts, I disliked my second wife, and I loathe Phil Kline.

Look, I'm happy the case is over, the news coverage alone, had there been a trial, would have turned me old and bitter. From the beginning the local media have milked this case, much like a similar case from a few years back, the murder of Ali Kemp, because it was sexy. And before some righteously indignant ass hat gets all up in arms, I don't mean Sexy in a sexual way. You have young, attractive girls from upper middle class families who are callously raped and murdered. Mind you, as horrific as these crimes are they weren't any worse than a hundred other rapes and murders, child abuse, senseless killings, you name it. But few cases in recent memory have garnered the attention of these two cases. Anyone recall the name of the little 4 or 5 year old girl who was killed while playing in her living room on the west side? Yeah, me neither. Then again the family of that child didn't attend press conferences , or have memorial motorcycle runs, or maybe they did, there just wasnt a long line of media folk around to promote it. The young girl in Belton, Kara Kopetsky, who has been missing for over a year now, hasn't garnered a single digit percentage of media attention in comparison to the two girls from JoCo. Then again she was a little less girl next door type, didn't really fit the same mold as the other two.

I'm happy for the Smiths, I hope this plea deal will give them closure. It was a horrible thing that happened to their child. Maybe they can move on now, I wish them all the best in that endeavor. As for the media, maybe in a few weeks after you have all milked this thing dry, with hypothetical reports on what Halls life behind bars will be like, what he will eat, where he will serve his time, and any other inane pointless drivel you can come up with, I hope you will focus , with the same obsessive zeal, on the alarming rise in murder rates in Kansas City. I hope you will find some other case to put in the spotlight, undoubtedly less sexy, but just as deserving. There are plenty of cases that deserve the same attention, just watch your own news program. Pick one of those 30 second sound bytes that you sort of report on. I wont hold my breath.

When good Prosecutors go Bad

Seems like only yesterday I was ripping New York's former Gubner Eliot Spitzer a new one, and it was only yesterday. Now its former Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison's turn. I caught his mini press conference on Fox 4 last night. Morrison was attempting to sound as if his glory days as the defender of justice are still in the here and now. He was talking in to the camera and assuring us that he was still one of the good guys. In his best long suffering voice , with a twist of righteous indignation he claimed that JO CO D A Phil Kline was waging a smear campaign. "He said Kline has accused him of blackmail, witness tampering and obstruction of justice even though charges have not yet been filed." Morrison went on to say that the investigation had nothing to do with justice and everything to do with a political vendetta. And that may or may not be true, in fact Id bet the farm that statement holds at least a degree of truthiness.

Here is where Morrison's cries of foul take a nose dive in to the proverbial toilet. Morrison was having an affair with one of the Jo Co prosecutors staff members. pun intended. The woman claims Morrison was trying to influence cases that Kline was prosecuting, she filed a complaint with the EEOC. Morrison readily admits to the affair , but denies any allegations of impropriety or tampering.

Whether the allegations turn out to be true or false is irrelevant at this early stage of the game. What is important is that the wheels of justice are turning. Rather than whimpering that the case is all lies, Morrison should be eager to prove his innocence and restore a few shreds of credibility to his sullied reputation. Kline's motivation is also beside the point. What is important is that Morrison be held to the same standard as everyone he prosecuted over an 18 year period in Jo Co and during his tenure as AG. Anyone who has ever been involved in a sexual relationship with a co worker knows that pillow talk always gets around to the job. Morrison would have us believe that he held firmly to his moral and ethical beliefs in regard to the law, while simultaneously forsaking his moral obligation to his family. That's pretty thin in my opinion.

I believe there is some truth to Kline's accusations and here is why. Paul Morrison's political career was already down the tubes prior to the investigation Kline instigated. Kline won. Phil Kline is a smarmy, condescending prick, make no mistake about it. What Kline is not, is stupid. If there was no merit to these charges, if Kline wasn't relatively confident in his accusations, he would never have gone this far. He wouldn't have sullied what for him was a sweet victory.