DISCUSSION: DID FORCHIONE HELP HIMSELF OR HURT HIMSELF IN HIS QUEST TO BE A COMMON PLEAS COURT JUDGE?

Today The Repository ran a story about a former Carroll County woman now living in North Carolina who was charged with a hit-and-run offense by the city of Canton.

In the end, it turned out that the woman was not the culpable person and the Canton City prosecutor's office did the right thing and dismissed the charge.

But while the prosecutor's office was getting matters right, the lady was out $7,000 in defending herself, spent time in jail plus had the stress of wondering if she, an innocent person, was going to be wrongfully convicted.

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT'S (The Report) impression is that it was a heroic person from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles that prevented a miscarriage of justice - not the office of Canton prosecutor Frank Forchione.

While The Report knows Forchione well and does not question his integrity, The Report does question the thoroughness of checking out the accused's alibi. In the opinion of The Report, Forchione's office put to much stock in the eyewitness accounts.

Anyone connected with the legal system knows how unreliable eyewitness testimony can be. Certainly, Forchione's office knows even better than most. So it is disturbing that Forchione's office didn't do a better job of checking out the quality of its case.

Maybe The Report is not reading Forchione's comments on the case as intended, but they do seem to be along the line "all is well, that ends well."

Is this an acceptable position for a prosecutor (who wants to be a Stark County Court of Common Pleas judge to take?)

What do you think?