Case dismissed

The case against David Bonds, the accused killer of Dinerral Shavers, was dismissed today in the New Orleans criminal court system. Why? Because the DA was unable to locate the witnesses, or in some cases, unable to compell them to testify after they had given their statements. The public defenders were able to throw out all testimony outside of the courtroom. The gun was retrieved, but in six months, no ballistics were run. There's no telling how many other crimes it may have been used in. And since no one wants to go to the trouble of testing, I guess we may never find out.

Back in January, I met with the ADA handling the case and were told that they NEVER get cases in which there is this much from the start: multiple witnesses, a weapon, motive, etc. Yet the case fell apart before our eyes, and talking to the key players along the way, it would seem the reason is this: no one felt it was their responsibility to get a conviction. The DA's office would only do the minimum with what the detective gave them. The detective would only do the minimum as far as getting statements and investigating leads. And so, here we are, and the great tragedy is that none of it is that surprising.
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Comments

Anonymous said…
You discovered what a lot of us already knew, no one with the ability to do something cares. They all need to be removed and people who actually care about our City put in their places. Until the people actually demand competence the powers will hide behind excuses.
1:19 PM
Anonymous said…
The actions of those who don't care enough to do their jobs is inexcusable.

However, having worked in close proximity with City Employees, I understand how they become so lazy. Often, doing a good job and crossing all your "T"s doesn't help. It's so disheartening that it sucks the life out of you.

But that's life. You have to do your best with the hope that it will make a difference. If you don't, you lose the battle and your soul.
2:39 PM
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