Chronicle again mischaracterizes Rosenthal position

It was hardly a shocker that the Chronicle endorsed Harris County DA Chuck Rosenthal's opponent

Rosenthal is one of the Chronicle's "bad guys," almost certainly because he's a tough prosecutor who believes strongly in the death penalty.

What was a shocker, although perhaps it shouldn't be at this point, is that the editorial page continues to characterize Rosenthal's position on the crime lab unfairly:

Rosenthal refuses to stand aside to allow the sort of independent investigation needed to restore faith in the system.

That's a more carefully worded version of the letter that this blog forced the Chronicle to correct just a few days before this endorsement came out. That letter actually contended that Rosenthal opposes an independent review of the crime lab, when in reality the Chronicle's own reporting notes that he supports an independent review.

Further, I followed up with Rosenthal, who explained that he actually had called for a Blue Ribbon Review panel to review the crime lab (which Judge Robert Eckels supported but then-Mayor Lee Brown opposed), and that he later wrote to then-police chief Joe Brashears urging a review of the entire crime lab. He admits that he has refused to recuse himself "unless there was evidence that any of my staff was involved in wrongdoing" and contends he's just doing the job he was elected to do. He has also opposed a "Cleveland plan" style review, contending that it is not appropriate to Houston's circumstance. Those last two points are certainly fair game for honest debate, but to characterize Rosenthal's position as outright opposition to an independent review is not honest.

The Chronicle can certainly endorse whatever candidate it prefers for various offices. However, one would hope for a little more integrity from the editors than continuing to mischaracterize the views of a politican they clearly dislike.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/20/04 10:43 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Sphere | Comments (0)

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