She comes out swinging.
Kelly Siegler
Legendary former prosecutor Kelly Siegler for the first time has responded to allegations of 36 instances of prosecutorial misconduct during an infamous 2007 murder trial.
In a statement to the Houston Chronicle by her lawyer, noted Atlanta attorney Lin Wood, Siegler said:
“The Chronicle has neglected to mention that the findings made by Judge Gist in the latest Temple hearing are made by the 13th judge to hear the exact same assertions previously made by Dick DeGuerin on behalf of his client,” she said. “While I always respect any judge I practice in front of, I do disagree with these findings and look forward to detailed and documented response to be filed by the District Attorney’s office in the near future.”
[…]
The statement is the first that Siegler has released since the rulings were issued on July 9. She has steadily refused to return calls for comment, which she addresses in the remainder of her statement on the case.
“I have refrained from commenting to the Chronicle because its coverage appears to be slanted – the Chronicle has neglected to include statements from the District Attorney’s office or the lawyers who represent the then-teenagers who are being portrayed as potential suspects in the murder of Belinda Temple, the family of Belinda Temple who lost both Belinda and her unborn daughter Erin, any member of law enforcement who worked the case for nine years, or that of a single of more than 40 witnesses who testified during the six week trial.”
See here for the background. This isn’t the only accusation of prosecutorial misconduct by Siegler in recent months, but it is the only one she addressed at this time. I think the charges are serious enough to merit investigation, but I suppose if I were Kelly Siegler, I’d refuse to give any ground, too. We’ll see what happens in the other case, or if anything else comes out of the Temple retrial if the CCA agrees with the recommendation to grant him one.
Not only has the coverage been slanted against Siegler, the Chronicle long noted as being anti-death penalty and therefore anti-Siegler, but bits such as this response of hers were quickly dropped from anywhere you would find it had Charles not provided a link.