The risks of being a prosecutor: Amos Stiltner, a prisoner serving a sentence in the Montgomery County (Kentucky) Detention Center for theft-related offenses, became so enraged at Commonwealth’s Attorney George W. Moore for opposing his motions for shock probation and pre-release probation that he planned to murder Moore, Moore’s wife and daughter and Circuit Judge William Mains. His tactical mistake was in confiding this to his cellmate and later to an undercover Kentucky State Police detective. While assigned to a work release detail working a mile and a half from Moore’s home, Stiltner was arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and being a persistent felony offender in the first degree (he had 26 prior felony convictions). Prosecuted by special state prosecutors Luke Morgan and Karen Timmel, he was convicted on all counts by a jury that recommended a 50-year sentence on each count (totaling 200 years). Stiltner, who had told his cellmate and the undercover detective that he wanted “to make George (Moore) watch as his family is killed in front of him,” instead was sentenced to the maximum 200 years recommended by the jury.Robert H. (Bob) Macy who retired as Oklahoma City DA after 21 years on the job, has been succeeded by Wes LaneNEW DAS: In Texas, Michael Stafford is the new Harris County (Houston) attorney, succeeding Michael P. Fleming, who resigned to accept a position in the private sector. In Pennsylvania, Marjorie Fox is the new Greene County DA, moving up from first assistant DA to succeed Glenn Toothman
Forty-six days after John W. Barce, an attorney in Benton County, Indiana, disappeared after meeting a mysterious man in a hotel in Lafayette, Indiana, on August 1, his body was found in a farm field near the city. Authorities have ruled the death a homicide. Barce was a former Newton County prosecuting attorney and the father of two current Indiana prosecuting attorneys. On the morning of Barce’s disappearance, Barce told his family he was going to meet a man named Martin Price in a Lafayette hotel and was later seen talking with a man in the hotel dining room. His car was found in the hotel’s parking lot. Later in the day, a person demanding $100,000 for the attorney’s safe return called Barce’s home and told a member of Barce’s family to go to a pay telephone at a nearby supermarket and await a call. The call never came. More than 100 police in two counties joined the FBI in searching for Barce, who had a heart problem and was required to take daily doses of a medication that he did not have with him at the meeting. Barce was prosecuting attorney of Newton County from 1958 to 1970. He was the father of Judson G. (Jud) Barce, current Benton County prosecuting attorney, and J. Edward (Ed) Barce, Newton County (Kentland) prosecuting attorney. Both are NDAA members. (The source for some of the material in this item was the Journal and Courier newspaper of Lafayette, Indiana.)
In one of those ironic twists of fate, as members of the child support collection team in the office of Alameda County (Oakland) California DA and NDAA board member Tom Orloff were receiving the prestigious Outstanding Child Support Program Award for the year 2000 in New York City, they and prosecutors throughout California were being stripped of the responsibilities that brought them the national award by legislation shifting collection responsibilities to separate county agencies reporting to the state Department of Child Support Services. The award-winning program now eliminated in DA Orloff’s office included self-directed teams of attorneys and support staff that worked by consensus, bringing in church and other community organizations to help low-income and young fathers to live up to their responsibilities as parents. Added Assistant DA Maureen Lenahan: “When you get a letter from the district attorney’s office, you are more likely to pay your child support.”
Bob Macy’s successor as DA of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, is carrying forward Macy’s plan for state murder charges and the death penalty against Oklahoma bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, who is currently serving a federal life sentence for the crime. Macy, a former NDAA president, had hoped to initiate the state case before he retired in June, but a series of legal issues intervened. New DA Wes Lane says he re-filed 160 first-degree murder charges—one for each of the victims of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building—because of the unpredictability of the federal appeals process, explaining: “I simply do not know what might loom out there on the legal horizon which would place Terry Nichols’s federal conviction in jeopardy.” Timothy McVeigh was executed in June for planning and carrying out the bombing. Nichols was transferred to Oklahoma City from a federal prison in Colorado last January to face the murder charges filed by Macy.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s commendation of Amy Klobuchar, Hennepin County (Minneapolis) attorney, for her effective use of community prosecution—assigning prosecutors to specific neighborhoods to focus on the crimes that plague them—was enthusiastically seconded by the Minneapolis Star and Tribune, Minnesota’s largest newspaper. In an editorial, the newspaper stated: “The partnership is a good deal for everyone—especially for the beleaguered citizens whose persistent complaints about livability crimes now enjoy fresh attention…And while it may take time for the new prosecution scheme to reap a public-safety payoff, the return in terms of public confidence in the justice system is immediate.” Klobuchar’s office has also received the National Association of Counties’ Year 2001 Achievement Award for its Safe Schools Initiative. Introduced two years ago, the initiative involves a closer working relationship among prosecutors, police and schools and is designed to provide a safe learning environment for youngsters by ensuring an appropriate response to school-related crimes.
Jerry N. Estes, district attorney general for Tennessee’s 10th Judicial District (Athens), has received the prestigious James G. Hughes statewide award for excellence in dealing with child abuse. The late Dr. Hughes was a founding director of the Memphis Child Advocacy Center and a leader in the child abuse treatment field. In announcing the award to Estes, Nancy Williams, director of the Memphis Child Advocacy Center, said, “…(District Attorney General) Estes has prosecuted hundreds of child abuse cases with passion and commitment to ensure that children are protected and perpetrators are held accountable... (As a member and chair of) Tennessee’s first Child Sexual Abuse Advisory Committee, he oversaw the development of statewide investigative protocols for child abuse investigations in the state…and continues to act as a leader and role model for fellow professionals throughout the state.”
Harry Morel, Jr., DA of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, has received the Year 2001 Public Service Award sponsored by Louisiana Attorney General Richard Ieyoub (a former NDAA president) and the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement. The award recognizes Morel’s distinguished public service in his 23 years as a DA and particularly his leadership in the victim assistance and domestic violence fields.
Scott M. Burns, Iron County (Utah) attorney, is moving to Washington, DC to become deputy director for state and local affairs (a new position) in the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Among the shark attack victims over the summer was Krishna Thompson, husband of New York (NY) County Assistant DA Ave Maria Thompson. The Thompsons were celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary in Freeport, Grand Bahama, when Thompson was attacked, losing part of his left leg. His wife said that Thompson, 36, told her that the lifeguards on duty did not swim to him during the attack and that he had to swim to them. An official of the resort denied this, contending that lifeguards jumped into the water and pulled Thompson out as soon as they saw he was in trouble.
In Louisiana, Douglas Hebert, Jr., DA of 33rd Judicial District (Oberlin), is the new president of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association. The new first vice president is Michael Harson, DA of the 15th Judicial District (Lafayette).
Deaths:
Patrick Meenan, father of NDAA President Kevin P. Meenan, died in Casper, Wyoming, in August after a long illness. He was 73. A native of Casper, where his son is DA of Natrona County, Patrick Meenan had been active in business, as well as politics and government at the local and state level in Wyoming, for many years. He served 20 years in the Wyoming House of Representatives, the last two years (1987-88) as speaker. He previously served 10 years on the Casper City Council and two terms as mayor (1962-65). An accountant by profession, he owned the first FM station in Wyoming, along with an AM station, and later became a broadcast consultant. A Republican, Patrick Meenan was highly respected by legislators on both sides of the aisle for voting his conscience, even if it meant crossing party lines. Former legislator H. L. Jensen, a Democrat, said Patrick Meenan “was the finest speaker I served under in 16 years in the House.” .
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