My letter to the editor (California Assembly race)

Editor:

I received in the mail today a flyer from Velázquez for Assembly charging Salinas mayor Anna Caballero, Igancio Velázquez's opponent for the 28th District Assembly seat, as "the politician who tried to let (convicted murderer) Gus Marlow go free" in 1992.

One wonders where Mr. Velázquez learned about the American legal system.

I'm not an attorney, nor have I ever studied law, but I know that the role of a criminal defense attorney is not to allow criminals to go free or even unpunished, but to ensure that juries hear aspects of cases they would not hear from prosecutors so they can produce verdicts that are as fair and just as possible.

A defense attorney's role is also in keeping with the Constitution of the United States, whose Sixth Amendment states, "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to ... to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense."

One also wonders if Mr. Velázquez believes the accused do not deserve the due process afforded by our Constitution.

:patriot: