In the case of State of Alaska v. Ted Hart, a Nov. 2, 2015 retrial commandeered by a zealous district attorney, the community of Haines experiences both vindictiveness and erosive insult. Said district attorney claims the state must “…do our best to hold Mr. Hart accountable in this matter in both to assist in his rehabilitation and protect the community.”
Having observed the entire original trial in April 2015 that resulted in dropping one of two counts and eventually a mistrial, I was astounded to find out assistant district attorney Amy Paige had prematurely decided to retry without first reviewing the trial transcript. Justice? I think not. Vindictiveness? Most likely.
Ted and Megan very recently welcomed a healthy newborn with plans to raise him to become a thriving member of our community. The state aspires to send Ted to prison for “rehabilitation” and “to protect the community.” Ted is an active participant in the exemplary dugout canoe project mentored by Wayne Price. Regardless, the state considers him a threat to our community. I suggest the state is the real threat as its actions promise to debilitate (not rehabilitate) a promising young family and thereby shatter (not protect) community trust in the judicial process.
Bill McCord