Letter to the Editor – Gordon McLaughlin for District Attorney

This Letter to the Editor is solely the opinion of its author.

It does not reflect the opinion of this newspaper.

We intend to present messages from both sides of the aisle.

Gordon McLaughlin is an advertiser of North Forty News.

By Jeremy Pond

I’m a registered Republican, and I’m voting for Gordon McLaughlin for DA.

Two years ago, I was indicted on three non-violent felony charges. I was innocent. It took the Larimer County DA’s office two whole years to come to that conclusion. Just six weeks ago every single charge against me was dropped “after an extensive review of all evidence.”

That review should have happened before the DA’s office charged an innocent man, subjecting me and my family to two years of psychological torment. But justice was never their aim. Otherwise, the DA wouldn’t have hired the alleged victim’s private attorney to run the grand jury, secure the indictment, and prosecute me. But they did all of this. They knew from the beginning that they did not have sufficient evidence to even take me to trial, much less win. But they hoped through sheer intimidation and terror to get me to accept a plea bargain, as 97% of defendants do, despite my innocence.

Such tactics must stop. Overcharging must end. The weaponizing of plea bargains against the vulnerable is a repugnant practice. These policies inhibit the pursuit of justice, merely serving to thicken the resumés of unscrupulous prosecutors.

The Republican dynasty in the Larimer County DA’s office has betrayed the cause of justice they swore to defend, and they must be held to account. I will be voting for Gordon McLaughlin for DA, and I urge everyone in Larimer and Jackson Counties, whether Republican, Democrat, or Independent, to do the same.