The Salt Lake Tribune -- Opinion
| Egregious
Conduct |
Wednesday, January 30, 2002 |
|
Mark Shurtleff sends cold shivers up the spine of everyone expecting our state attorney general to act as a model of fairness. His grasp of jurisprudence is not exactly reassuring, either. Shurtleff's letter (Forum, Jan. 20) supporting Professor Paul Cassell's nomination to become a federal district judge referred to Dr. Robert Weitzel's case in a reprehensible display of bias and presumed guilt. By referring to the families of the five patients who died as "victims" rather that "alleged victims," Shurtleff models the worst example of smearing a defendant publicly before standing trial in a court of law. Shurtleff ought to be familiar with the public record that clearly shows that none of the patients entering Dr. Weitzel's care was remotely healthy as the prosecution erroneously claimed. Even the jury for the first trial disregarded the prosecutor's mythic scenario that five healthy patients were murdered. Furthermore, Shurtleff ought to know that Davis County prosecutor Mel Wilson tried illegally to have murder charges brought against Dr. Weitzel a second time. Fortunately state statute and constitutional law prohibit such egregious efforts to undermine our system of justice. Thus, Shurtleff's statement that Dr. Weitzel is "charged with killing" is either a calculated effort to prejudice the public against Dr. Weitzel or a public display of incompetence. Both are frightening to contemplate. Utah citizens have a right to expect that the office of attorney general be filled with a person of impeccable character and integrity. Integrity begins with a discernment of right and wrong rather than offering one's personal belief, which Yale law professor Stephen Carter says can lead us astray. By the very power of his office, Shurtleff's conjectures about the Weitzel case could lead everyone astray. It's time that Shurtleff begins to show respect for the law and also for the office of attorney general. THE REV. TOM GOLDSMITH Salt Lake City |