What's with Waukegan mayoral candidate Chris Wakefield being a character witness for the former Waukegan policeman accused of rape. Is he campaigning for the accused rapist vote?
Normally, politicians, especially those who want to get elected, don't get involved in writing character letters in defense of someone accused of sexually assaulting someone, as is Delatwon Haynes, currently in custody on $2 million bond. Haynes has pleaded guilty to the alleged offense.
The reason being is that support can be used against the candidate in the heat of the campaign. No doubt some other Democratic mayoral hopeful will mention this before the February 2009 primary election. Probably several times.
That certainly can't be called mudslinging when one signs his name to a letter contending the bond amount is too high for an accused rapist and an ex-cop. And, candidate Wakefield might be asked what he thinks is the correct bond for an accused rapist who is a former policeman. Also, has he written letters of character reference complaining of high bonds for other accused criminals?
Perhaps there's more accused rapists on the Waukegan voters' rolls than The Hound thinks. But if at minimum 50 percent of the electorate is women, that support for Haynes could mean the loss of some votes for candidate Wakefield.
Dear Editor,
As you have stated in your blog, I did in fact write a letter requesting that due process be followed in setting bail for the Waukegan Police Officer. I do not condone any contact whether consensual or non consensual between the officer and his accuser. I was asked by several police officers to review the situation objectively. After reading the police report and the accuser’s statement along with the 5 million dollar lawsuit filed by the accused victim months before the officer was even charged, gave me enough reason to ask questions. I questioned how the bail amount was reached. And Haynes did not pled guilty as you stated in the News Hound blog. Just because an accused person is a police officer, does not mean we should not follow due process. A Gurnee police officer was accused of an offense involving two minors, his bond was set at 1.5 million. A Waukegan man was accused of killing his wife a week ago, his bond was set at 2 million. I do not know how bond is determined but I fully understand our justice system and I believe in it. This former Waukegan police officer should be entitled to the due process as any other individual. It is the process itself in which I defend not the crime in which this former Waukegan officer is being accused. And yes my character is such that I will stand up for the process of our court system. If this former officer is innocent or guilty a jury will decide but if we allow due process to erode, we all lose in the end. It is easy to say “I am running for Mayor therefore I can not get involved” but I chose to answer the police officers, family members and citizens who asked for my help. If that gives my opponents “attack ammunition” in the heat of debate that is the price I will have to pay. Whatever the bond should be, let it not be based upon this former Waukegan officer’s profession, that is a slippery slope I do not want to see this community go down.
Please feel free to contact me directly.
Chris Wakefield
www.WakefieldforWaukegan.com
THE HOUND SAYS: Let The Hound first correct an error the editor made. Former Waukegan police officer Delatwon Haynes pleaded NOT guilty at his arraignment on July 16. The Hound will strike the editor numerous times with a dornick.
Now, on to Waukegan Democratic mayoral candidate Wakefield. If one doesn't know how bond is determined, why get involved? Because he "was asked by several police officers to review the situation objectively." Is candidate Wakefield an attorney? Is he a judge? Two Lake County judges looked at the charges and refused to reduce the former officer's bond.
Perhaps candidate Wakefield confuses "due process" with fairness when it comes to the amount of bond Delatwon Haynes is being held on. The Fifth and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution are considered due process clauses, with the 14th extending "due process" into the states. Essentially, the amendments say we should not be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. In fact, Delatwon Haynes is going through the process of law. Candidate Wakefield just doesn't like the process when it comes to the $2 million bond the ex-cop is being held in the Lake County Jail.
Part of that process is determining bond for an accused. Judges determine bond through various degrees, including recommendations from the Lake County State's Attorney's Office. Perhaps mayoral candidate Wakefield knows what is the correct bond for a former police officer accused of rape. Obviously, he doesn't like the $2 million figure. Is it $1.5 million? Or $1 million, $750,000, maybe $25,000?
He doesn't address that, nor does he address The Hound's other question if he has written letters of reference for others accused of crimes. Of course Democratic Waukegan mayoral candidate Wakefield can get involved in any issue he desires. But as a candidate, coming to the side of a person accused of rape is something voters will get a chance to judge.
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You asked the questioned why did Chris Wakefield get involved? He got involved for the reasons that he gave. Waukegan officers, family members, and friends contacted Chris and asked him to stand up for the Haynes Family because they knew there was injustice being done. You simply can not explain why a White Gurnee cop who is being accused of raping two children under the age of 13 gets bond set at 1.5 million dollars and how a White man kills his second wife only after serving eight years in prison get a bond set at 2 million. Now the alleged victim in the Haynes case is a known street walker/drug addict that admits that when she is in the middle of giving her statement have to excuse herself because she is a herion addict that have to go take care of herself. Haynes has never been in trouble with the law before. So yes we will ALL (at least the people that is not trying to benefit off Haynes) how they felt a 2 million dollar was justifying. No Chris is not a attorney, and he is not a judge but he have more courage and heart to stand up and do and say enough is enough. For him to care more about justice and man being done wrong instead of shying away like the snakes that call themselves friends of Haynes says a ton. It says that this man (Chris Wakefield) is willing to stand and take a punch for something that he believes in, no matter how that might look. Now if I wanted someone on my side, it would be him. With him you don't have to worry about shaking your hands and then stabbing you in the back. He looked at the facts of this case. He's not going off what's in the media or in the newspapers, but reports that was provided to him that anyone could obtain if they wanted to know the truth. Matter of fact, I know that associates of Haynes has tried several times to send documents to the News-Sun to show his innocense but there was never a response.
You said that two Lake County Judges looked at the case and refused to lower the bond. You are correct about it was two Lake County Judges, however one set the bond and the other upheld the dicision. Now one of the two judges that set the bond dealt with evictons and small claims. So on this particular day when the bond was set "Gee I wonder was it hard for the proscutors to get a two million dollar bond". You keep asking Chris what would be a fair amount for the bond, simple refer back to some other case. They are not hard to find. We can't set the amount because we are not judges but we certainly know bull when we see bull and this is all bull. Chris if he wrote letters in the past or have campaigned for any other person like Haynes you better believe that he had ALL THE FACTS and was making a decision based upon that and not being bias because the media and news is trying to make this situation into somthing that it's not.
THE HOUND SAYS: Ah, the race card is played. So, it's all about a former black cop having a bond of $2 million and a white cop having a bond of $1.5 million. Would Waukegan Democratic mayoral candidate Chris Wakefield be happy if Haynes' bond was lowered to $1.5 million? The Hound doubts that.
The Hound has no idea why one bond is $2 million and the other is $1.5 million. Apparently, you intimate there is racism at work in the case of former officer Haynes. The Hound has no way of knowing, the same as candidate Wakefield. You also wander aimlessly in your defense of candidate Wakefield. Maybe you should ask candidate Wakefield to enlist Barack Obama to get involved in the Haynes cause.
Here's the bottom line: What if candidate Wakefield is on the wrong side? He can kiss his political future good-bye. If he's on the right side, few will care. As The Hound posited earlier: It's a lose-lose situation for a candidate to get involved in a criminal case.