https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins/posts/10214103136554585
Exclusive Breaking News---
Attorney General Steve Marshall Investigating Megan Rondini Rape Case
By Donald V. Watkins
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on September 10, 2017
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on September 10, 2017
Bobby Moore, an investigator for Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, has asked to interview witnesses in the Megan Rondini case. Megan is the young University of Alabama honors student who was drugged and raped during the early morning hours of July 2, 2015, by Terry Jackson "Sweet T" Bunn, Jr. Sweet T has denied raping Megan.
Two of the individuals contacted by Moore are friends of Megan who were with her at Innisfree Irish Pub on the night of July 1, 2015.
The Investigations Division of the Attorney General's Office investigates a variety of criminal matters, such as public corruption, white-collar crime, "cold" cases involving unsolved homicides and rapes, and other violent crimes. A number of these investigations are conducted independently, while some are done in concert with other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Bobby Moore works in this division of the AG's office.
Steve Marshall has come under heavy criticism from victim's rights advocacy groups for his lackadaisical attitude toward Megan's rape case, especially after BuzzFeed News introduced her tragic story to the world in June. Marshall's initial response to Megan's rape case was to simply ignore it.
Tuscaloosa County District Attorney Hays Webb has said nothing about Megan's rape case. He is generally regarded as weak, inept, and incompetent as a prosecutor. It is unclear as to whether Webb referred Megan's case to AG Marshall for investigation, or not.
Bobby Moore's requests for witness interviews came on Friday, September 8, 2017 -- exactly one day after Ms. Alice Martin, the former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama (2001-2009) and former chief deputy attorney general for Alabama (2015-2017) published an article titled, "Alabama Voices: The scars left by date rape drugs" in the Montgomery Advertiser. The article describes Ms. Martin's own scary experience with "date rape" drugs.
In her article, Ms. Martin, who is a highly accomplished career prosecutor, acknowledges that Megan's case was "mishandled". This candid admission by a respected federal and state prosecutor was a huge step toward achieving justice for Megan Rondini.
Ms. Martin worked at Vanderbilt University Hospital's psychiatric unit as a Registered Nurse before going to law school. She cared for patients on suicide watch. "Without supportive services, some victims, like Megan, will turn to self-blame, some to self-medication, and some will try to block it out and live with the pain", states Ms. Martin. "Worse, 33 percent will contemplate suicide and 13 percent will attempt suicide", she said.
Sadly, Megan committed suicide on February 26, 2016, after Sweet T escaped criminal justice in her rape case while Lyn Head was serving as district attorney.
After noting that "Megan was a beautiful University of Alabama co-ed who reported her assault immediately to authorities, who sought supportive services and who failed to receive what she needed", Ms. Martin publicly declared "[b]efore there are more Megans, let's come together to prevent violence and when we can't, to support victims and punish their attackers."
Ms. Martin is running as a conservative Republican for Alabama Attorney General in next year's race. Republican Steve Marshall will be seeking a full term as AG.
In February, former governor Robert Bentley handpicked and appointed Steve Marshall to replace former AG Luther Strange. Bentley had previously appointed Strange to the U.S. senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions in a highly questionable "quid pro quo" deal that may cost Strange his senate seat during the September 26th runoff election.
In April, Bentley resigned as governor after pleading guilty to state ethics law violations.
Does Bobby Moore's investigative work signal the start of a serious, independent criminal investigation, or just a political maneuver by Steve Marshall to get out front of Alice Martin on the explosive Megan Rondini rape case?
We do not know the answer to this question for sure. However, we do know several factors that are relevant to answering this question.
First, there was no public announcement of this criminal investigation by the AG's office. The investigation will either expose the police cover up in Megan's rape case, or continue it.
Second, during his seven-month tenure as Attorney General, Marshall has not brought felony public corruption charges against any big-time public officials and has not brought criminal charges against any rich criminal suspects. Jefferson County, alone, is a sea of public corruption. Tuscaloosa County has at least one serial rapist on the loose and is experiencing a growing enterprise of "date rape" drug trafficking.
Yet, DA Hays Webb and AG Steve Marshall have not prosecuted this well-known serial rapist or the "date rape" drug trafficking suspects who are tied to him.
Third, Ms. Martin is highly respected in law enforcement circles for her commitment to justice, strength of character, intellectual acumen, legal abilities, backbone of steel, prosecutorial skills, and willingness to stand up for crime victims when no one else will. Her record as a prosecutor is exceptional.
In contrast, Governor Bentley privately viewed Steve Marshall as the "weakest" district attorney in Alabama at the time of his gubernatorial appointment to the AG's job. Prior to Bobby Moore's investigative actions, Marshall had been missing-in-action in Megan's rape case for nearly three months since the publication of the BuzzFeed News article.
Fourth, Alabamians will finally get a chance to determine for themselves whether Attorney General Steve Marshall has the backbone it takes to prosecute a rich and powerful rape suspect like Sweet T, along with "dirty" cops like Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ron Abernathy, Investigator Adam Jones, and Investigator Josh Hastings.
If he can survive the taint from his political deal to downgrade the four felony ethics charges in Robert Bentley's public corruption case to "no-jail time" misdemeanors, Steve Marshall's handling of Megan Rondini's rape case will likely determine his future as Attorney General.
