I, like everyone who reads this letter, am against graft in our government.
I also support our legal right to a “presumption of innocence,” which means that an accused person is innocent until proven guilty in front of a jury of his peers. The “presumption of innocence” protects all citizens from false accusations.
During the past nine years, there have been many false accusations against the accuser’s political opponents, and many times the accusation has been accepted by members of the public as facts, before the accused could defend himself in a court.
Currently, Lewis County PUD Commissioner Michael Kelly is in the position of being accused and, before a trial, he is being assumed guilty by some in our county. His reputation has probably already been damaged. It is wrong to treat a person as guilty due to an accusation, before a conviction.
Furthermore, normally a crime is a fact if the criminal actually drives off in the stolen car, or actually runs off with the stolen bag of money, or actually hits the victim. I realize that intent can be a factor, but 15 years in prison is two years more than 12 years for murder. Discussing an illegal act may not be found by a jury to be equal to committing the illegal act.
Mike Kimbrel
Oakville
