Full disclosure: Koster makes preemptive strike
Everybody knows about opposition research: Read everything ever written relating to your opponent – especially everything your opponent has ever said — and look for errors.
Given that campaign reality, would-be AG Chris Koster’s campaign staff is making a preemptive strike, believing that an error in the spring issue of the University of Missouri Law School alumni magazine, Transcript, is likely to be eventually found by his primary opponents, Jeff Harris and Margaret Donnelly.
In a piece about lawyers turned lawmakers, Koster discusses his time as the prosecutor in Cass County, and the investigation and eventual sending-to-jail of John Robinson, the serial killer. His quote:
“I’ve been fortunate to have many memorable experiences during my career, but few compare to leading the successful prosecution of serial killer John Robinson. His crimes were so heinous, the damage so irreparable and the horror so unspeakable that his conviction was immensely important for both the family members and the people of Missouri. When the jury came back with a guilty verdict sentencing him to life in prison, it was a landmark day for both my career and the history of our state.”
Folks following that ordeal know that there was never a jury verdict. Robinson pleaded guilty. The quote would make Koster look rather bad.
But Koster’s campaign says that misquote came from a staffer responded to the questionnaire from the magazine. The staffer no longer works with the campaign.
Spox Danny Kanner, says Koster wouldn’t have botched such a reference because the case was a highlight of his career.
“There was no jury verdict because the case never went to trial. Koster got Robinson to confess to the murders after 40 hours of interrogation, and negotiated a plea deal that resulted in five life sentences without parole,” Kanner wrote in a statement.
So how exactly is Koster admitting that he let a serial killer off the hook with life in prison a victory for him? The Kansas prosecutor got the death penalty for Robinson. Koster pled it out. So much for the tough talking prosecutor.
And what happened to that staffer? Seems like every week Koster has a new mouthpiece. Maybe these problems wouldn’t happen if Koster ever opened his own mouth and talked to reporters.