Emily Russo Miller’s article about the victimization of a family by the District Attorney’s Office, who criminally charged a young man for accidentally shooting his brother is the kind of journalism that I love to see in your paper. I am becoming a Raving Fan of the Juneau Empire for your courage to address abuse as you see it.
The entire family has been victimized by a heartless DA. This is not justice, it is abuse. Thanks Emily for bringing it to light.
Keep up the great work!
Ray Vidic
Juneau
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Yes I agree with this.
DA Bower is acting on
DA Bower is acting on accordance with the law. He does, however, have some latitude, prosecutorial discretion, in this dv case. This story comes to my attention because I have Google alerts for stories that involve, among other things, domestic violence. I had not followed that case and would hope that he is taking into consideration the degree of injury to the man that was shot, the wishes of the "victim" in pursuing prosecution and if the perpetrator presents a danger to the community. Based on Ms. Miller's article the DA is not considering the wishes of the "victim" or if the accused is a danger to the community. It seems that the accused has learned a painful lesson that he will have to live with the rest of his life. I don't see that it is in the public's interest to charge the man with a felony.
In many states there are "no drop" policies on any charge of domestic violence. These are policies of the Attorney General's office. I don't know if the Alaska AG has such a policy.
In this case the victim never filed charges and the charges were initiated by this DA. If the "victim" refuses to testify or comes down with a bad case of "I don't remember" it will not stop a prosecutor bent on racking up another domestic violence win. Only the family publicly protesting the case and drawing public support to drop the case can help. If they get widespread public support and the accused refuses to plea down to any felony (which I hope he does as any felony will have disastrous effects for the rest of his life) they can hope for jury nullification.
The DA has made his point and could have made his point without a felony charge.
I sympathize with the family and agree that this is further victimizing the brother who lost his leg and the entire family.
See my previous comments to "My Turn: Brower: An Honorable DA" by Tom Wagner
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Everyone loses.
There can be no win in this case for the DA, even if he prevails, he has already lost, as has the family and the community. Enough is enough, charges should be dropped ASAP for everyones sake. The present punishment of the brother is far more than sufficent! It is a life sentence, I know!
Sometimes
an accident is just an accident. The DA's actions, and lack thereof of late, have placed each ensuing action under tremendous scrutiny. This will continue. And rightly so. Mr. Brower has been forcefully defended by the likes of Tom Wagner and other bloggers, however that does not mean that the questions being asked aren't appropriate. Yes, the general public is not generally privy to confidential aspects of cases. That said, some of the decisions emitting from the DA have been serious head-scratchers. It is not blasphemy to hold the opinion that some of his decisions have been real stinkers.