Joe Early and the angry mob
By Michael Gaffney
If you are not familiar with the happenings of District Attorney Joe Early, this article is not for you.
Before we being to explore the topic, let’s establish what needs to be established.
First, I am not a member of the establishment;
Second, I’ve never actually had a conversation with Joe or anyone connected to the present hysteria; and
Third, I called for him to resign months ago.
Should Joe Early resign? Nope.
How can I make that argument when the Telegram & Gazette has called for his resignation? Simple, they lack the integrity to make the demand. For far too long, their lack of objective reporting and the cover they have provided for the administration at City Hall has rendered their opinion meaningless.
Here is my argument as to why Joe should say no:
It doesn’t matter how the conviction occurs, the sentencing was never going to change whether the statements were left in or out of the report. The Attorney General’s investigation did not find that there was an attempt to influence the prosecution of the crime. The young woman involved wasn’t going to get extra time for admitting how out of control her life had become. Removing the comments did not change the status of the case.
The argument has been that there are two standards of justice, but there wasn’t any evidence in the Attorney General’s investigation that found that the prosecution of the case was tampered with. So, the young woman didn’t receive any special treatment as to the crime.
There is a very strong argument that there is special treatment in the removal of unnecessary, salacious information that a normal citizen wouldn’t get, but if the incident had occurred to anyone but her, no one would have ever heard about it. Drive through Main South Worcester on any given Sunday morning and you will see the forgotten souls that few care about. But, since she is from a prominent family, it was certain to be front page news to publically humiliate and tear them down. If we are being honest, there are two standards at work here. Those that are successful and try to change the world are the ones the mob and the Editorial Staff at the Telegram & Gazette wants to pull down and destroy.
No one is surprised that Joe may have tried to influence the gravity of the report, further proof isn’t going to change what everyone knew from the beginning. However, it is his office’s prerogative as to how to prosecute the matter. If the prosecution doesn’t want to present evidence, it simply doesn’t have too. Often, the more vicious the prosecution, the more sympathetic the witness to a jury. Simply put, his office could have conducted the trial without ever using the comments no matter how much the Editorial Staff at the Telegram & Gazette whine and pout.
Joe tried to cover this all up! This is Watergate! He must resign! Really? There is an election in a few months. Let the voters do their job. If the concern is that voters are too stupid or hold party over politics, then elections are meaningless and we can rule by the whims of the mob or the Editorial Staff at the Telegram & Gazette. We either believe in our representative republic or we don’t. We either believe in each other or we fail as a society.
Joe will need to argue that his office will prosecute crimes, not persecute people. That he will enforce the law as to rehabilitate lost souls rather than to dispose of them. At the end of the day, most people want law and punishment to fit the crime and help those in need, rather than be used to destroy lives.
Truth is, Joe can win on a simple message: “I care about people.”
