Let’s see if the General Assembly can actually govern.
Republican legislators are calling for fixes to the ill-conceived law. The goal — making it impossible to use it in pre-trial motions. Pre-trial motions of the kind Demetrius Montgomery has used to delay his trial for the 2007 murders of CMPD officers Jeff Shelton and Sean Clark.
But to be honest, big deal. Republicans mostly opposed the law last year too. The question is if Democrats who drove this law through — along with Gov. Bev Perdue who signed it — will have the basic decency to admit a mistake. Then, it is back over to the Republicans, who will have to act to help fix state law — or try to score political points by keeping the law on the books and running against it come November.
One sign of hope is that state Sen. Malcolm Graham had an opportunity to back off earlier comments about the law being misused in its current incarnation and did not. Graham told WBT’s Keith Larson this morning that the law was meant to be used in post-trial motions, not pre-trial delaying tactics a la Montgomery and a couple dozen other accused murderers. And although Graham wiggled just enough not to get nailed down, he seemed open to the notion of working with state Rep. Thom Tillis and other GOPers to fix what is a manifestly bad law with staggeringly unintended consequences.
Good. Let’s see if something can come of this seeming agreement across party lines. And quickly too. That way we will not again endure the civic shame and obscenity of Jennifer Shelton pleading for a core component of civilized justice, a trial, for her husband’s accused killer.
Bonus WTF: Still, MIA on this matter, our Boy Mayor. Guess I was wrong about him being more statesman-like than Bev Perdue.
