Editor:
I recently served as jury foreman on an attempted murder trial in Montezuma County. I have only lived in Montezuma County for a year and a half and do not follow local politics much. The case involved a violent felon on parole who pulled a weapon on two local police officers and tried to kill them. Russ Wasley was the attorney prosecuting the case. Mr. Wasley presented a clear, pragmatic and competent case. Even when Mr. Wasley was challenged by a somewhat famous DNA expert during the case (the expert had recently testified in the defense of Amanda Knox in Italy); Mr. Wasleys line of questioning and common-sense approach to cross examination helped the jury come to a confident decision. Our jury was made up of many different residents of Montezuma County and Mr. Wasley presented a case that convinced all of us beyond a reasonable doubt.
After the case ended, I did some research into Mr. Wasley and his opponent Mr. Furse. I found that District Attorney Wasley goes after criminals, especially habitual offenders. Mr. Wasleys background is in prosecuting criminals. Will Furses background is in defending criminals. Furse has been a defense attorney representing many of the same types of people that Wasley prosecutes. When asked, Furse admitted that he has never tried an attempted murder case let alone a murder case. Im sure if you gave criminals and defense attorneys the choice, they would choose Will Furse for district attorney. There are plenty of defense attorneys who make money representing criminals; we need a prosecutor to represent the people of Montezuma County. Mr. Wasley is a prosecutor with a proven record; Mr. Furse is a defense attorney.
Mike Rubin
Mesa Verde
Via CortezJournal.com