Those tracking the saga of Bexar County DA Susan Reed's efforts to stop a legislatively approved needle exchange pilot should be sure to read Karen Brooks' story this morning in the Dallas News. I was shocked to see the brazenly false declaration, "We did not go out looking for this," First Assistant District Attorney Crag Herberg said. "This was not on top of anybody's agenda in this office."
What?! That's patently untrue. From the first, Susan Reed went out of her way to oppose implementation of the new law, declaring she would prosecute anyone engaging in a county-run needle exchange pilot. Then, when police gave a Class C misdemeanor citation to 73-year old chaplain Bill Day (profiled in Brooks' article), Reed's office insisted the charge be bumped up to a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a potential sentence up to one year in the county jail.
She didn't have to do any of that. In fact, its not her role to second guess the legislature. She can say she opposes what the legislature did, but she can't stand in the way once its done. And now, after she did so, she claims this fight was thrust upon her. I wish her office weren't so disingenuous about playing the victim. You went out of your way to pick this fight, Ms. Reed. Own it, will ya?
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4 comments:
Rep. Garnet Coleman, who authored and joint-authored two bills that would allow local health authorities and organizations to set up needle exchange programs, is a Representative in my area. I hope to work with him in the future to get needle exchange programs really moving. I mean, they've been proven to decrease the HIV/AIDS infection rate.
Michael Blunk, President
Students for Sensible Drug Policy @ UH
mgblunk@gmail.com
Houston, TX
Just another out of control D.A. grandstanding! If the Texas Legislature passed the law allowing needle exchange in Bexar County then it is her sworn duty to comply. Why is she immune to review by a higher authority and sanctioned for her prosecutorial misconduct. I think a blatant act of unlawful conduct of this nature indicates a total disregard for the law and merits disbarment. What a poor example this D.A. projects to the people of Bexar County when she ignores the law and her job is to bring law breakers to justice.
Hey, Susan Reed, "wanna get away?"
If public officials have a hard time carrying out the (democratically derived!) mandates of their positions, they are more than welcome to resign.
We do not operate in a parliamentary system where a person is elected to power and given license to exercise their political will against something they find objectionable. Like as not (and I am sure, like most overweening officials, she doesn't like being reminded of it) she is a 'civil servant', not a master.
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