Problem Is Good Ole Boy Politics

Dear Editor:

I am amazed and saddened to say that we have had another trial in Franklin County where it appears that the victim was arrested and the guilty parties were allowed to go free.

We had a trial just four weeks ago in which Jarrett Woolever was charged with public affray and culpable negligence. It was alleged that Mr. Woolever hit Jill Shiver with a chair and he was arrested. Well guess what? The jury was only out for 10 minutes before coming back with a not guilty verdict! This is a full five minutes faster than it took the jury to come back with a not guilty verdict just a few months ago, in the case where I was accused of battery against Joey Rowell. It was revealed in that trial that I was beaten up by Joey Rowell and not the other way around.

Having been through the same experience as Mr. Woolever, I can tell you that he has suffered greatly because of his experience. This travesty of justice has cost him a great deal, both monetarily and emotionally and his reputation was damaged beyond repair!

What is going on with our law enforcement officers? Are they just incompetent, or are they intentionally arresting innocent people?

 As I understand it Mr. Woolever was running a bar at 98 liquors in Eastpoint last November when this incident occurred. There were two video cameras in the bar that caught the action. What was revealed in the video cameras clearly proved that Jarrett Woolever did not hit Jill Shiver with a chair. What it did reveal was that Mrs. Shiver's husband, Randy Shiver, was part of a group of people who attacked Mr. Woolever. This was apparently so evident that the jury did not need any time to talk it over. They knew that the case against Mr. Woolever had no merit!

What I have come to believe alarms me through and through! This must be normal behavior for our sheriff's department. Unlike my trial, the Woolever case never made the local newspapers. How many other incidents have we had that no one has heard about? I have to believe that there must be many others. How many people in Franklin County have been falsely accused but did not have the money to hire a lawyer? How many people have been falsely accused and did have a trial but did not make the newspapers? We probably have some of them in jail!

It is time the citizens of this county say enough is enough. We have some good men and women working for the sheriff but we also appear to have some very rotten individuals working for him as well. It would seem that the sheriff is either just as guilty as the rotten officers or he just cannot control them! Either way we need a sheriff with the willingness and ability to come in and get control of this mess.

Our election process should not be a simple popularity contest. If we don't grow up and stop electing our public officials based on who they are related to and whether we went to school with them or not, we will continue to have the good ole boy system in which our officials protect their family and friends at the expense of the citizens.

I for one am going to take a close look at the qualifications of the two sheriff's candidates, and I am going to cast my vote according to who I think is the most qualified and the most likely to clean this mess up!

Let's grow up and move away from the good ole boy politics of the past!

Sincerely

Bill Snyder

Lanark Village