To the Citizens of Rapides Parish, I am Phillip Terrell, and I am running to be your next District Attorney. My campaign has focused its efforts on a simple fact: experience matters. Put simply, I have worked as an attorney on both sides of the criminal case, prosecution and defense, and have also heard and decided the outcome of thousands of criminal cases as Pineville City Judge. This experience is crucially related to the job I am seeking, and I pledge to keep my campaign focused on the issues in the days leading to the election. Recently, my opponent Chris Hazel has decided to attack me in certain areas of this great Parish, and I feel led to respond because I am deeply offended by these accusations. Mr. Hazel, a State Representative, has loudly and repeatedly criticized me and labeled me a racist for representing a Winnfield Police Officer named Scott Nugent. Officer Nugent, a white male, was charged with the killing of Byron Davis, a black male, after he used his taser while trying to arrest Mr. Davis on felony drug charges. A jury made up of both blacks and whites decided that Officer Nugent, a white policeman, was wrongfully accused of killing Byron Davis. The vote was 12 to 0. The jury foreperson was a young, African American female. Rep. Chris Hazel made the all-too-typical decision to “play the race card,” exploiting the tragedy of this case for his own political gain. And by doing so, he is further dividing our community, which has been plagued by this sort of non-sense for all too long. Mr. Hazel, realizing that his campaign has lost all momentum, has allowed Chris Roy and his operatives to continue their negative attacks on me in a reprehensible attempt to turn voters off of me. Whether representing a client or deciding a case as judge, the color of a person’s skin has never been a factor to me. This is a ridiculous allegation, and Chris Hazel knows it. It would be an honor to represent any policeman falsely accused of wrongdoing. My experience is far greater than my opponent’s. In this vital race for such an important office in our community — experience matters. Sincerely, Phillip Terrell
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 01:27:56 +0000