Letter to LD

YOU AREN’T FROM AROUND HERE ARE YOU BOY?

A combination of hurricanes and floods and the Houston media has sometimes painted a picture of Liberty County citizens as dumb toothless hicks who have all built our houses in a flood plane. It is a misconception that is reinforced ever so often when during an emergency in Liberty County the bright lights of the TV cameras find someone coming out of a non air conditioned house that has had little sleep and no bath or hot food. Most of us laugh at how wrong the picture is that is implied by these reports.

The image District Attorney Mike Little is giving Liberty County is not near as funny however. Little’s lack of action in the Joe Warren case will cast a shadow on the way Liberty County is viewed that has long lasting and serious consequences.

Little’s decision to not only keep Joe Warren on the clock and pay him while he prepares to answer charges of tampering with a witness and threatening someone with a deadly weapon makes Liberty County look like a town some people may choose to find an alternate route around. But his decision to allow Joe Warren to actually handle prosecutions may make us a county where criminals end up getting to drive right out of the jail parking lot and rejoin our community.

Little seems to be saying to anyone who questions why he is protecting Joe Warren at the expense of protecting justice, “You aren’t from around here are you boy?”

His glib attitude about such a serious matter really reflects on us all. Accepting a justice system that does not require people to at least be on administrative leave that have been arrested and are charged with such serious crimes, will speak volumes to those who watch Houston channels and local news.

People hearing about Joe Warren and his continued work with the D.A.’s office while under the cloud of investigation himself might wonder who else in the courtroom is charged with criminal behavior. The bailiff maybe? The Judge? They could even imagine a circumstance where Warren is prosecuting someone charged with the same thing he is charged with, or maybe something much less serious.

Defendants in cases might workout a legal angle and try and get their case turned over on the basis of Joe Warren’s participation. Many of us have to wonder about the expense in dollars and the cost in justice Mike Little is exposing us all to. And for what? Is Little trying to influence Joe Warren’s jury by openly supporting him to such an extent?

Next flood when a camera is stuck in front of one of Liberty County’s finest, maybe it will capture someone who is dressed nicely and who is well spoken. But even if one of the Houston channels does focus in on someone like that, the reporter could harden back to this time and ask about when Joe Warren was allowed to investigate and prosecute people while he himself was under investigation. And that person will be left with Little’s defense, “You aren’t from around here are you boy?”

The damage from storms and floods can be unavoidable. So can the damage caused by troubled employees. We are asking you again Mr. Little; please sideline Mr. Warren until he has faced a jury of his peers. Please do your job.