Viers' prosecution: Your tax dollars (not) at work?
Questions are being asked about the new charges that may be filed against Horry County Representative Thad Viers.
Already facing charges for harassment, Viers resigned his House seat yesterday in advance of an expected indictment . This indictment would be yet another blow to Viers, who already quit the race for the state's new Seventh Congressional District and will not be seeking re-election to his State House seat.
But are additional charges really necessary? That's the question we've heard from some and we have to wonder the same thing here in the Blogland.
In the last few months, the Blogland has not been the best friend to Viers. But once he dropped out of the Congressional race and decided to exit politics altogether, we refused to join the lynch mob that has made sport of his personal difficulties. We try to follow the old Southern rule that you don't kick someone when they're down. Given the impact of this case against him: legal costs, negative publicity in his community and the end of his political career, Viers is clearly down and out.
Unless Viers has committed some serious new offenses, it would seem that Viers has already paid plenty for his offenses - and will certainly pay more when the current charges go to trial.
We would hope that prosecutors will consider this - and hope that Viers has finally learned a very costly lesson. If these charges cover nothing new, then it seems reasonable to settle for allowing the current charges to go to trial and close the matter. Anything more would seem like a spiteful taxpayer-funded witch-hunt.
The resignation simply reflects the fact that under the law he can be suspended/removed from office BECAUSE of the indictment. He just resigned to avoid the embarrassment of being forced out.