Our View: Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has been so ill-served by the criminal justice system that his guilt or innocence of the actual corruption charges is almost irrelevant.
Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has been so ill-served by the criminal justice system that his guilt or innocence of the actual corruption charges is almost irrelevant.
Throughout Stevens' trial, the prosecution was dogged by missteps but still managed to convince a jury. Now, after finding out this week that the prosecutors had failed to turn over a key piece of evidence to the defense, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder directed the Justice Department to ask the judge to dismiss the charges against Stevens and throw out his conviction.
Holder has promised that his department will conduct "a thorough review" of the entire matter. Stevens, the voters of Alaska and the general public, jarred by revelations out of the department during the last eight years, are all owed an explanation of how this happened in the first place, and how it went on so long despite all the warning flags.
