As the name suggests, I'm from Arkansas. In this state, most people have pretty fond memories of Bill and Hillary Clinton and Bill's tenure in the Governor's Mansion. The Clinton years also introduced in Arkansas politics a number of beloved characters, including Betsey Wright, his beloved Chief of Staff who, faced with the daunting tasks of dealing with the rabid right in their ascendance and in dealing with the fall out from Clinton's affairs (which as I understand it, she greatly detested) developed the rapid response system tasked with defending Clinton while still carrying out her duties as Chief of Staff with poise and grace. Now though, this wonderful fixture in Arkansas politics, at age 66, is in some serious legal trouble stimming from what may be trumped up charges from a corrupt state prison establishment tired of her years of activism on behalf of convicts.
Update [2009-8-13 13:6:17 by ARDem]:: Yes, I typed Ross instead of Wright at one point, d'oh!
The charges here are serious:
Betsey Wright, chief of staff under Gov. Bill Clinton and a long-time familiar figure in state and national politics, has been charged with 51 felony counts of attempting to take contraband items into the Varner Unit of the prison system, which houses Death Row.
Prosecuting Attorney Steve Dalrymple of Pine Bluff said Wright was charged wtih attempting to take in an ink pen with tweezers and a needle inside; a Swiss Army-style pocketknife of undetermined size; a "blue box cutter with razor" of undetermined size, and 48 "tattoo needles." In a phone interview, Dalrymple had referred to these as "tattoo syringes," but the information faxed to me later indicated they were needles.
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Ok, just let me get something out of my system here-a sixty-six year old former chief of staff to a former governor turned POTUS probably has better things to do than get tattoo needles and shanks to deathrow inmates. Just saying. And in addition to the ridiculous, Arkansas Blog (an excellent Arkansas news source) makes a good point that seems to indicate Wright is being singled out here:
The filing of charges raises, for one, questions of how often the Correction Department pursues felony charges on contraband, particularly items discovered before entry. I was unable to reach a prison spokesman after office hours.
Dalrymple told me an interview last week that contraband is a routine occurrence in the prison -- from drugs, tobacco and alcohol to cell phones. Regular prison visitors tell me that they often see people found in possession of prohibited items who are allowed to take them back to their cars before entry. Wright was immediately subjected to questioning on the items.
The Arkansas prison system is notoriously corrupt. Right now, the mismanagement is bubbling to the surface, a major source of inconvenience to the good ol' boys who are hoping the whole mess will just go away, and despite the evidence of inmates left to sit in their own feces or worse, and the examples of felons who simply escaped, it probably will knowing the Arkansas political system's notorious lack of back bone.
So how does Betsey Wright fit into all this? She's been an advocate for the rights of convicts and a major thorn in the side of the powers that be in the prison system:
Rosenzweig's description of prison officials' view of Wright as an "irritant" is mild. They have been deeply stung by press and legislative criticism and have long resented Wright's outspoken advocacy. Some are holdover employhees from the days when the Clinton administration fought to reform a prison system riddled with corruption. They are accustomed to running the prisons as a no-questions-asked fiefdom and Wright was not shy about criticizing the small ways in which prison officials can add misery to lives of prisoners by such things as withholding mail or other small privileges.
So in short, this wreaks of political payback. But hey, what do you expect from a state that brought us the West Memphis Three witch trial.
Betsey Ross Wright is a great woman and a tireless crusader. She's one of those rare souls that such noble things can be said of:
Wright's devotion to Death Row cases -- obsession many would call it -- has caused even some ideological soulmates to distance themselves from Wright at times. She's spent a sizable portion of her modest means in making regular visits to the prison from her home in Northwest Arkansas.
She's a crusader, and an inspiration, so I wish her the best and, while trying to keep an open mind and examine both sides, I've got to say this whole thing stinks. Maybe though, just maybe, it will open the door to some real reform here in Arkansas and bring in some much needed change to the prison system.