The County Attorney's Office didn't respond to repeated requests for an explanation as to why an alleged murderer is getting a plea deal from a politician who campaigned for re-election on a platform of no plea deals.
Personally, The Bird's not in favor of the death penalty because of this sort of arbitrariness. An accomplice to murder earns death, while three others more directly involved criminals skate from the Grim Reaper's grasp.
Arizona Department of Corrections
Does Patrick Bearup belong on death row while his co-defendant Sean Gaines cops a plea deal? The Bird doesn't think so.
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There's also the possibility that the death penalty's being used as retribution.
Patrick Bearup's dad, Tom, was Arpaio's right-hand man until a bitter falling-out made them deadly enemies. Tom Bearup ran against Joe for sheriff twice. In turn, Arpaio did his best to destroy Bearup, having him tailed, tapping his phone, and housing Patrick Bearup in a mental ward while he awaited trial. At the time, a Correctional Health Services doctor observed that Patrick remained in the psych ward despite being perfectly sane. The doctor wrote that it was "per order of MCSO because his father was running as an opponent to Sheriff Arpaio."
Tom Bearup, who now lives in Alaska and runs a Bible church there, recently wrote President George Bush, in a long-shot appeal for a presidential pardon. The letter's touching, even if you don't believe Patrick Bearup deserves the forgiveness his pastor pa's pushing for.
"As a father, it is difficult to see your son being sentenced for a crime that he might have committed, but when your child is convicted for a crime that he didn't commit . . . your whole world begins to crash," pens Bearup, who still maintains his son's innocence. "I can't even imagine what my wife is going through . . . She was bonded not only by blood but by physical things such as the pain of delivery and carrying him for those nine months."
You might think Bearup's delusional, yet he's the first to admit Patrick was no angel.
The Bird's saying Patrick Bearup deserves to be in prison for the rest of his life for the beastly deeds he did. But should he rot on death row as Gaines cops a plea, joining Nelson and Johnson in beating a death sentence? Sorry. That's not justice, or anything like it.
DISCONTENTED DEMS
The Bird may just have met the love of his life: A no-bull Democrat lady who knows how to win, and statewide, to boot.
She's Corporation Commissioner Sandra Kennedy, a tall, savvy African-American woman who pulled more than a million votes in her winning run for office as part of the "Solar Team" that included Sam George and Paul Newman. Kennedy also garnered a seat on CorpCom, while team leader George failed to gain one by about 2,000 votes.
This clucker caught Kennedy as she was exiting the Maricopa County Democratic Party's recent reorganization meeting, where party precinct committee people pick new county officers. Kennedy didn't stutter when she stated what needs to be done to turn Arizona Democrats from losers to winners next time around.
"There need to be some serious changes in leadership," Kennedy said. "[Executive Director] Maria Weeg needs to say, 'Bye-bye.'"
Continued Kennedy, "I don't know if it's going to happen, but if we plan to win in 2010, she can't win. She has the experience of being a loser, and we don't need that. She needs to find some other employment."
Kennedy was outraged when Weeg tried to claim credit for her win at a November meeting of Dems in Tucson as a way of assuaging Democratic disappointment over the loss of seats in the state House and Senate, leaving the Legislature firmly in the grip of the GOP. In reality, Kennedy says, she got "no help" from the state party.
Many other precinct committee people at the county function, which took place inside the gymnasium of Royal Palm Middle School on a Saturday, also thought Weeg should dive on her sword. But Kennedy went a step further, criticizing State Chairman Don Bivens, whose post's up for grabs at the Dems' state reorganization meeting on January 24.
"Don is a great person for fundraising," she admitted. "But I'm not sure he has the vision for the party."
With Mark Manoil stepping down as county chairman, and his successor, Ann Wallack, running unopposed for his position, there was little drama at the powwow, which left plenty of time for Dems to assess their losses and what could be done about them.
Pima County Democratic Chairman Vincent Rabago happened to be in house, and he explained that party leadership had recently visited Tucson as part of a "listening tour" and had gotten an earful from him and others. Asked if there should be some changes in staff, Rabago, who's also currently a state assistant attorney general, said, "Everything is on the table with regards to that."
Rabago said the party was "quite upset and concerned throughout the state." But though he had been suggested by some as a replacement for Bivens, he said he had no plans to run for the seat. His fellow Pima County Dem Paul Eckerstrom was nearby and echoed some of Rabago's sentiments. He, too, has been mentioned as a replacement for Bivens, but said he has no interest in relocating from Tucson to Phoenix, as would be necessary.
