The Sad Truth

In 2003, a horrific fire broke out in Rhode Island during a rock concert of the group Great White (pictured) killing 100 people, many of them young.

Dave Kane, whose 18 year-old son died in the fire, met today with the new U.S. Attorney in Rhode Island seeking justice. According to the Associated Press. "Kane and other families have complained in the past that the investigation into the fire, spearheaded by state authorities, had been tainted by corruption and ineptitude"

The story goes on to say:

However, Andrew Horwitz, a professor at Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol, who has followed the case closely, said he thought it was unlikely that federal authorities would investigate. The federal government typically only prosecutes criminal activity that crosses state borders, and Horwitz said it would be a stretch to find a federal issue in this case. He said he has seen no convincing evidence of a cover-up, and prosecutors can't go after investigators simply for doing a bad job. "Lots of people do their jobs poorly. Lots of people make mistakes," he said. "We don't tend to criminalize that."

Horowitz hits on a judicial truth: we don't criminalize people who do their jobs poorly.

Unfortunately, during the Rove Republican Racket stay in power the sad truth was Karl Rove's Justice Department went to great lengths to prosecute the innocent or people who may have done their jobs poorly.

Just ask Sue Schmitz or Governor Doyle's aide.