Tuesday, February 08, 2005 :::
Bart Hinkle Falls For It, Too
TD columnist Bart Hinkle makes a rather sloppy slip at the end of his column this morning:
Though this space is not the first to point it out, it's worth noting that Kilgore's attempt to portray Kaine as a left-wing nut job was seriously undermined the other day when news broke that convicted murderer Robin Lovitt recently received some pro bono representation from that other screaming liberal, Kenneth Starr. Yes, the Kenneth Starr. So much, at least on this score, for razing Kaine.
For shame, Bart. Let's just see what Google has to tell us about Mr. Starr's involvement in the case:
Virginia Death Penalty News (an anti-death penalty site) says of the Lovitt case:
On appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia, Lovitt argued, among other issues, the following: (1) the trial court erred in allowing the testimony of several witnesses; (2) the trial court abused its discretion by failing to strike for cause a juror who had lived next to five neighbors who had been murdered; (3) trial court violated Lovitt’s right to a fair and impartial jury by refusing to allow the defendant to individually examine prospective jurors during voir dire; (4) the trial court failed to protect Lovitt’s constitutional rights by refusing to award the defendant additional peremptory challenges; and (5) the trial court erred in refusing to permit Lovitt to argue to the jury that because there is no parole for convicted capital defendant a life sentence was the equivalent to death in prison. The Supreme Court of Virginia found no error on the part of the trial court and affirmed Lovitt’s conviction and death sentence.
Lovitt has been on death row since March 1, 2000.
This WTOP story offers more on Starr's court arguements. This gist? Starr makes the case that Lovitt's previous counsel did a shoddy job, and that critical evidence in the case was destroyed.
How does Starr's own firm, Kikrland & Ellis, spin his involvement in the case?
Starr disputed that the scissors were the murder weapon and said the only thing linking Lovitt to the crime was testimony of a "shadowy jailbird." He urged justices not to wait until constitutional errors "spread from case to case until the state's death penalty system potentially collapses under its own weight."
Okay. It seems Starr's interest is in rescuing the death penalty from prosecutorial error -- not ending the penalty altogether. Starr even says while he favors the death penalty, he believes it should only be administered "for the gravest offenses" - and that this case isn't one of them.
So how does this compare with Tim Kaine's position on the death penalty? Not so well. He's even to the left of Mark Warner:
And when Richmond Mayor Timothy M. Kaine, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, said he supported a moratorium on the death penalty, Warner stepped forward to say: “I disagree. I believe we need to make sure the death penalty is carried out fairly. But I believe at this point there is not undue bias.” (Washington Post, 6/14/01)
You know, if anything, Mark Warner and Ken Starr are kindred spirits on the issue. How about that for triangulation? Kilgore may be pressing the death penalty issue too hard for some. That's politics. But to say that Ken Starr's involvement in a death penalty appeal somehow gives Tim Kaine cover on the matter is just wrong.
But the irony is delicious.
::: posted by Norman Leahy at 2/08/2005
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