O'Reilly Targets First African-American D.A. in Georgia, Uncle of the Magic's Dwight Howard and Person Who Prosecuted NFL's Ray Lewis for Murder
Reported by Marie Therese - February 16, 2005
On yesterday's The O'Reilly Factor (2/15/05), Bill O'Reilly went on a tear against Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Paul Howard. This was a really wacko segment featuring the ubiquitous Judge Andrew Napolitano making rather inflammatory statements and O'Reilly raving on and on about how "this guy Howard," this "villain" had to be made to pay for letting a young African-American woman plead out on a manslaughter charge in the bludgeoning death of her 5 week old daughter in 1998.
The case was finally settled after 6 years with the mother, Carisa Ashe, agreeing to plead guilty to manslaughter, serve five years' probation and submit to a tubal ligation to prevent her from ever having children again. Never discussed on the Factor, however, was the fact that, should she renege on the terms of the plea bargain, Fulton County has reserved the right to try her on the original manslaughter charges. Ms. Ashe had no prior history of abuse and it was claimed at the time that she was suffering from serious post-partum depression. The case has caused quite a stir in Georgia, because of the implications of someone voluntarily agreeing to sterilization as a condition of a plea bargain.
Paul Howard, a Democrat, ran unopposed in the recent elections, a fact not disclosed during the Factor segment. I kept wondering as I watched this "Who's behind this story? Why on earth would O'Reilly target such a high-profile D.A., one clearly popular with his constituency?" But then O'Reilly solved the problem for me. He called for Howard to be recalled.
The Republicans clearly had no one to run against him, so they've enlisted O'Reilly and his gaggle of goons to badger Paul Howard out of office by claiming he's been too soft on this young woman.
A word of advice to Mr. Howard: Watch your back. We here in Caw-leee-for-ni-ya know all too well the power of that word RECALL!
Here are some of the statements made by O'Reilly and Napolitano.
O'Reilly (teaser for upcoming segment): America! AMERICA allows a baby to be killed and the killer to walk free!!
O'Reilly: In the six years between the murder of the baby and the deal, Carisa Ashe gave birth to two more children, bringing the total to eight. One dead. One who apparently ran away - she's missing. Four who are wards of the state and two living with Ashe's mother. Apparently multiple fathers are involved. Authorities will not say how many - a radio report says seven ... D.A. Howard's hiding under his desk.
NAPOLITANO: She waives a jury. So, she's just before a judge. The D.A. cuts a deal with her defense lawyer. From the point of view of the defense lawyer, the deal is too good to be true. Agree to the tubal ligation, so that you can never again have children. Five years probation and you'll walk free. That's an abomination. That's a free pass on murder!!
O'Reilly then queried the Judge, asking what would have happened to her had the victim been 18 years old.
NAPOLITANO: It's a question I'd like to put to this prosecutor, this District Attorney of Fulton County, Georgia. I suggest to you it is the anti-life mentality, fostered by partial-birth abortion right up to the moment of birth, now carried over onto the other side of the birth line. [Mimes] "Oh! The baby was only five months old. Oh! She had seven children .."
O'Reilly: Weeks
NAPOLITANO: "... five weeks old" "Oh! She has seven children and she can't to [sic] support them." That attitude is condemnable on the part of those charged with enforcing the laws.
O'Reilly This D.A. Howard - and by the way we're gonna give ya' his e-mail address, if you wanna get in touch with this guy because he's gotta pay a price for this. This guy. I don't think it's abortion with this guy. I think this is a case of inconvenience. He didn't like the case, he didn't want to deal with the case. He knew there was nobody to stick up for the little baby ..."
NAPOLITANO (incensed): That is HIS job to stand up for Baby Destiny.!!" ... (later) The people of Fulton County, Georgia need to know about this, because he is their elected chief law enforcement officer and he's not doin' his job!!
O'Reilly: He's a Democrat. He's just got re-elected. He's got another four years. ... (later) the judge down there - we checked him out - he looks like a pretty solid guy. But he does OK 99% of what the prosecutors and defense attorneys bring him.
Later:
NAPOLITANO: In my own view she should get 20 years in jail ...
O'Reilly: Is there any excuse that you can think of - to be fair to this Howard - who again was invited on this program and who's hiding - is there any excuse other than "I don't like this case, I want to get rid of it"? - because the woman's grossly irresponsible. You don't have eight children and I described the chaos those children are in - by eight different men - one radio station confirms that, confirms that .... this is a grossly irresponsible person who is getting a walk on it, a walk!
NAPOLITANO: ... It's either he doesn't care about life or he doesn't care about this case. It's just too difficult, too much of a hot potato to handle.
O'Reilly: Why would it be a hot potato?!! It's a slam dunk conviction!! ... What can the woman say? She didn't do it?! She did it! They were throwin' out the post-partum nonsense!!
NAPOLITANO: There's no defense to what she did.
O'Reilly: Right!
NAPOLITANO: It is a given that she murdered this child. Why shouldn't she be in jail for 20 years?
O'Reilly: Let's put a little heat on this Howard and he deserves it, ladies and gentlemen. This is the villain in the whole case .... He's a villain. No question. You can recall this guy, you guys listening in Georgia. He can be recalled. Ya' gotta get the whole petition goin' and all of that. But unless this guy explains, we can't have Americans - even 5 week old baby Americans - murdered and then this guy lets the murderer walk. We just cannot have that in this country!!
O'Reilly aired the e-mail contact for Paul Howard's office.
COMMENT
The freepers are all over this one. Some guy named Michael King has already posted on Free Republic about his appearance on tonight's O'Reilly Factor.
Don't you just love the way two over-the-hill white men calmly describe tubal ligation as getting off scott free? Wonder what they'd be saying if it was castration that was being discussed? Additionally, the National Organization for Women considers this plea bargain to be outrageous.
