Letter to the Editor: Freedom Unjustly Denied

Memorial Day in Portsmouth, Ohio, is filled with festivities and a somber remembrance of the veterans who fought and died for our freedoms. The Scioto County Memorial Day Parade in Portsmouth is home to one of Ohio’s oldest parades. The parade ends in Greenlawn Cemetery, the final resting place of more than 3,500 veterans. The events of the day bring locals together to recognize, remember, and honor the sacrifices America’s veterans made in protecting our FREEDOMS.

While Memorial Day unofficially marks the beginning of the summer season, many families celebrate by holding family gatherings, participating in parades, visiting cemeteries, and remembering loved ones who have passed.

Originally, Memorial Day was known as Decoration Day. Americans in various towns and cities, including Portsmouth, Ohio, had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless freedom fighters by decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers for those who had courageously died for our freedoms. It is unclear exactly when this tradition started but following the Civil War in the late 1860’s, many communities throughout the nation began remembering those who lost their lives protecting our freedoms. The Civil War claimed more lives than any conflict in United States history and was about giving previous slaves the freedom to enjoy life as they chose.

Memorial Day is about FREEDOM. Freedom to live as we want and to shape our future as we decide without government interference. We have the FREEDOM, without government hindrance, to speak freely and to think as we want. We have the FREEDOM to not be imprisoned or enslaved without due process of law. Our right to FREEDOM is guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and men and women have fought and died protecting our right to be free. Memorial Day is a sad reminder of the lives lost protecting our FREEDOM.

Prosecutors in Scioto County do not care about the meaning of Memorial Day or the sacrifices that were made to protect FREEDOM. Head prosecutor Shane Tieman has information that past prosecutor Pat Apel and current prosecutor Julie Hutchinson convicted Christina Williams with lies and perjured testimony. Shane Tieman has been provided proof that both Apel and Hutchinson lied to the Court about every aspect of the case against Ms. Williams, and he simply doesn’t care. In one example, Pat Apel and Julie Hutchinson stood just feet in front of Judge Harcha in the trial of Christina Williams, looked Judge Harcha in the eye, and both Apel and Hutchinson lied to the Judge without care or shame.

If Shane Tieman cared about FREEDOM, he would bring Julie Hutchinson into his office and fire her on the spot. Shane Tieman would then work to have both Apel and Hutchinson permanently disbarred and disgraced. It is sad that Shane Tieman does not care about the thousands of Americans who have died fighting for our right to be free. If Shane Tieman did care, he would take positive, hands-on action to eradicate the corruption in the district attorney’s office and work to set innocent Christina Williams free.

Shane Tieman was not responsible for the actions of Pat Apel and Julie Hutchinson in 2010 when they violated both ethical and criminal law to convict innocent Christina Williams of a crime she was not part of. Mark Kuhn was the head prosecutor at the time who sanctioned Apel and Hutchinson’s corrupt behavior. It is hard to imagine how Mark Kuhn could be an impartial Judge in Scioto County when he allowed this type of shocking behavior to infect the office of the district attorney under his watch.

Thousands of brave men and women have sacrificed their lives to guarantee that Christina Williams had the FREEDOM she was entitled to and deserved. It is not fair, ethical, or moral to have an innocent Christina Williams die in prison for a crime she was not part of when Pat Apel and Julie Hutchinson knowingly withheld evidence of her innocence, fabricated evidence of her guilt, and over and over again lied to Judge Harcha and the Jury. That is simply not what Memorial Day is about.