In Defense of Chris Connolly

The past week has seen two accusations of misconduct against Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly. Both accusations have come from the court of Facebook.

We have not always agreed with D.A. Connolly; however, we have never found him to be unethical in any way. Those accusing Chris now seem to have as much understanding of the law as Shoalanda does of Zen Buddhism. 

Some have brought up a recent case in which Kathleen Emma Boggus was granted youthful offender status. How is Connolly responsible for that? He and former judge Mike Jones (who was assisting) fought against it. If you have problems with this allegedly wanton young woman receiving that status, you should contact Judge Gil Self who made the decision.

That brings us to the June 8th boat crash on Shoal Creek. How is Connolly responsible for a report issued by Lt. Chad Pate? 

The process is not hard to understand:

1. A man kills another man in a Florence poker game. Florence police detectives investigate, then file a report with the district attorney's office.

2. A sex offender rapes and kills a Center Star woman, Lauderdale County sheriff's deputies investigate, then file their report.

3. Two vessels collide on Shoal Creek, killing passengers. Alabama Marine Police investigates, then files its report with D.A. Connolly's office.

Unless new witnesses come forward, the district attorney's office simply uses the initial reports to make its case in the boating deaths. The district attorney has only what Lt. Pate has recorded. If something has been omitted, how is he to know? If something has been falsified, how is he to know?

If anything has been omitted or falsified, look to the Alabama Marine Police, not the Lauderdale County District Attorney's office.

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We'll add that a boat's registration can't be illegally changed anymore than your motor vehicle's can. It's recorded not only at the local courthouse, but also in Montgomery. We're pretty sure that the whole state isn't in cahoots to cover up any shenanigans with the cabin cruiser or the speed boat. 

So theoretically, someone could lie about being the cabin cruiser's operator, but not about being its owner. As Dr. Walt Duncan once said, it's not rocket surgery.