Whit Graves sent me his submission for the blog, along with a note saying that he would be busy emceeing the Shrine Circus this weekend. While he was busy keeping that commitment, all four of his tires were slashed. Knowing Whit would want to keep the focus on the issues at hand, below is his communication to you.
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Over forty years ago I became a Louisiana State Police Trooper when I was nineteen years old. My college degrees are in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. I was accepted into the prestigious Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU where I earned my Juris Doctorate. After graduating and passing the Bar Admission Exam on my first taking, I immediately came home and became a prosecutor under then District Attorney Henry Brown rising to the position of Chief Prosecutor.
I left the District Attorney’s Office after Schuyler Marvin was cited by the Legislative Auditor for unconstitutionally using government funds from a bank account established when he was in the Webster Parish office. That money was largely obtained from drug runners who then received lenient sentences. He resigned but I correctly predicted he would oust the then District Attorney Jim Bullers who was incapacitated from a motorcycle accident and I would not be associated with Marvin as the District Attorney.
Since then the operations and practices of the District Attorney has been shrouded and lacks necessary transparency. I intend to reinstate the placing of police reports into the files of the Clerk of Court, minus of course the names and other identifying information about sex crime victims, children and others who would be at risk if their identities were revealed. Confidence in the operations of the office by the citizens it serves dictates that its endeavors are open and obvious for all to inspect, agree with, and /or critique.
As District Attorney, my first act will be to fire Frank “Buddy” Mondello, a convicted criminal who has served as an “investigator” for Schuyler Marvin. He is the good friend of the confessed murderer for hire Larry Thompson who admitted to helping Marvin get elected solely to assist Mondello to get the position of great authority and power he has. His continuance with police power is indefensible.
I want to move to a position where more of the current Assistant District Attorneys are full time employees. Not every position dictates a need for a full time status, but the ability to consolidate responsibilities and duties will provide the opportunity to have career prosecutors who will only become more effective with a broad base experience. Our main objective will be to serve you with a special attention towards the victims of crimes because a successful prosecution mandates that the needs and desires of victims be carefully considered. The allowance of greatly reduced sentences through plea bargains in order to obtain a cheap conviction for statistical purposes will cease to be the objective. Such practice only insures the speedy return of violent or career criminals through shorter sentences than the crimes actually committed demand.
As the Chief Prosecutor, I did the job more efficiently and with greater results. I will return that effectiveness through providing the instruction, direction, and examples to the many staff members who have great potential only needing to be properly channeled towards serving you and your families. I look forward to joining with the police and judges in insuring our district will be a place where our children and grandchildren will want to stay, feeling safe and secure.
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If you are a candidate for office and would like to address the voters with your platform for office, please send a few paragraphs to mybossier@gmail.com and we will publish it. Attach a picture if you like and we’ll include it.
If you are a candidate for office and would like to address the voters with your platform for office, please send a few paragraphs to mybossier@gmail.com and we will publish it. Attach a picture if you like and we’ll include it.