The jury pool may be tainted in the Murdaugh case, a reader writes

Tainted jury

I was taken aback about an article on the Murdaugh case and the reportedly “failed” lie detector of Curtis Eddie Smith. As a former prosecutor and defense attorney who tried cases for 47 years, I hope you researched the Frye doctrine regarding polygraph tests and their admissibility as evidence. I am aware that by agreement of the parties, polygraph evidence can be admitted. In all my years, I only had two cases where there was an agreement. In both, it was done pretrial as there was some doubt on the part of the prosecutor regarding his primary witness. We agreed to abide by the results and whoever was successful, either the State would dismiss or my client would plead. That was pretrial. If there is no statutory allowance or an agreement, which in this case I deem unlikely, the defense team has now tainted the entire jury pool who is aware of this polygraph. No instructions by the court will be adequate to find a fair and impartial jury. In the jurisdictions where I practiced, again without agreement of the defense and prosecutor, I would have found myself appearing in front of the State Disciplinary Administrator.

John Gerstle, Hilton Head

Sham degree?

The State reports that Ellen Weaver has now met the requirements to run for SC Superintendent of Education, thanks to a gift from Bob Jones University (BJU).

The SC Code of Laws requires that a candidate possess “the minimum of a master’s degree and substantive and broad-based experience in the field of public education”. Ellen Weaver has neither.

According to their website: BJU’s master’s program in educational leadership requires 11 3-hour courses, including a research paper. A full-time, dedicated student could possibly earn that degree in three semesters.

Did she actually complete that program in six months, or was she given an unearned degree for political expediency? The answer is clear.

What this says about Ellen Weaver, and BJU, is also clear. BJU also notes that “this program . . . does not lead to state licensure.” We are expected to believe that a program is not sufficient to qualify a graduate to teach, but can qualify one to become the leader of the State’s schools. What we have is a sham degree from a sham university for a sham candidate who is in no way qualified for the job. Vote better, South Carolina!

Luther Hendrix, Camden

PFAS need addressing

Pausing in the frenzy of politics, war, weather and latest football scores, David Travis Bland, interim editorial editor of the Island Packet, alerted readers in last Sunday’s opinion piece to a more important subject, PFAS. Ever heard of them?

These are pervasive chemicals in our environment, especially water supplies, coming from the manufacture of cleaning products, paints, fire-fighting foams, water and stain-resistant products, food packing and more. Mr. Bland calls on South Carolina local and state governments to act aggressively to identify and remove these chemicals NOW.

Mr. Bland ends with a truism, stating “Providing clean drinking water is one of the moral issues of our time.” Yes, thought-provoking pieces like this, connecting water issues with morality, should be the talk of the town. Thanks, Mr. Bland, for talking.

Debby Boots, Hilton Head

In favor of death penalty

Dylan Roof - mass killer of Charleston church members.

Dennis Rader - known as the BTK killer.

David Berkowitz - Son of Sam killer, New York City.

Gary Ridgeway - Green River Killer.

Nikolas Cruz who opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 more. His sentence was life in prison. He should be executed.

This is a list of a few of either mass murderers or serial killers that are alive today. The actions of these people are why I’m in favor of the death penalty. Evil people must face the consequences of their murderous actions. I believe in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. My reasons for advocating the death penalty are as follows:

They have murdered scores of innocent people.

Punishment should fit the crime.

They represent pure evil.

The death penalty eliminates the possibility of an escape and future victims.

Eliminates the cost of feeding and housing. David Berkowitz has been incarcerated for over 3 decades. I wonder what it has cost the city of New York.

A famous police detective once said, “There are people among us who shouldn’t be among us.”

Rudy A. Berry, Darlington

This story was originally published October 30, 2022 at 5:00 AM.