Sometimes, one would think Mingo County wants to prove its entitlement to the term, “Bloody Mingo.” For decades that have turned into centuries, murders and unusual circumstances have permeated Mingo County life.
While we continue to believe the vast majority of Mingo Countians are decent, law-abiding citizens, nobody can fail to recognize the underlying legal and societal problems in Mingo.
Now, we have yet another Mingo murder. This time, oddly, a Charleston coal company executive, has been shot down in a cemetery as he apparently visited the grave site of his late wife. How the alleged murderer, a 20-year-old from Ohio, knew Ben Hatfield would be at the cemetery in order to be shot is still a mystery. Other details make as little sense as law enforcement’s handling of the Sheriff Eugene Crum murder or the permanent coma beating of Dawson Isom. When Alice walked through the Looking Glass, she was not asked to accept anything more bizarre than some of the legal explanations in these cases.
First of all, the public has a right to know what has happened in all three cases. Law enforcement needs some privacy in investigations but even FBI investigations eventually come to an end and conclusions are announced. In the case of Crum and Isom, that hasn’t happened in Mingo despite the months that have passed. We hope there is more information for the public in the Hatfield case.
Beyond that, though, Mingo County is now strapped with a lame duck Prosecutor, who was lame long before she lost in the May primary election. Teresa Maynard has proven — and the voters have confirmed — that she is not capable of handling a case of this magnitude. For the sake of justice in Mingo County, we suggest she step down now and not wait until the end of the year. Let the new Prosecutor, in whom the voters have shown they have trust and confidence, handle this matter.