Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

Kuhl – innocent until proven guilty?

While I am no lawyer, it is my understanding that in the United States, all defendants facing criminal charges are still, to this day, presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Perhaps that only applies in our county to people not worthy of front-page news?

I guess there is always the room that houses the Court of Public Opinion that some tend to enter hastily, convicting a defendant, long before court proceedings, via town gossip and social media.

It’s something many of us, including myself, are guilty of. The concept of “innocent until proven guilty” has been corrupted, especially in modern day politics.

In ancient Rome, the presumption of innocence was expressed through in Latin as “ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat,” which means, “the burden of proof lies on him who alleges, not upon him who denies.”

But there are some in our small, quiet, peaceful town, that I usually feel so blessed to be a part of, running one of our own through the “Court of Public Opinion,” well before a court date. Apparently even before an arrest warrant. And this isn’t the first time Crook County has done this to one of our own.

In November 2018, we reelected Mary Wood Kuhl as our Crook County Treasurer, and now, she is barely allowed to greet us in the office.

We elected her! Let her do her job; which as of today, it is still her job!

Despite the fact that she is innocent until proven guilty, those piling on the public opinion band wagon, have stripped her literally and figuratively! Something just doesn’t seem right that we would treat one of our own like that, and that we wouldn’t allow the legal system to work the way it’s supposed to.

The Sundance Times front-page one sided smear did not include any information about Mary’s service to our community. It didn’t include any of the great things she’s done for so many people in Crook County. It didn’t include that she is a lifetime resident, who grew up here. It did not include any information about how Crook County employees and other officials treated her when they arrested her.

The ongoing coverage of the case has been one-sided. Despite the fact that she is innocent, until proven guilty.

The article barely pointed out that this isn’t the first run that the Court of Public Opinion’s has used to try to convict Mary. “According to County Attorney Joe Baron, this is not the first time an investigation has been launched into Kuhl’s behavior within her office, although the first did not lead to any charges,” the article reads.

Peat and Repeat were on a boat!

It did not lead to any charges! And here we go again? How many times should she have to pay for legal defense to fight those that did not vote for her? And those that clearly want her out of office!

“Kuhl allegedly responded,” our Sundance Times reports. “Kuhl allegedly confirmed,” another paragraph leads. “The agent spoke with employees at Kuhl’s office and was allegedly told,” another paragraph shares. And in another one, “Kuhl allegedly voided the transaction.”

The definition of allegedly: used to convey that something is claimed to be the case or have taken place, although there is no proof.

The total amount missing, “reported” by the Sundance Times, comes to $360.01 – note that was reported, not preceded by “allegedly”. And she had to strip down, and wear shackles into our court room, in the courthouse we elected her to be in, and the one she has served in since I moved here in 2013? And her mug shot was posted? And she’s been locked out of the office we elected her to be in? And she’s not allowed to do any transactions with the people that elected her? And she’s not allowed access to her job duties?

From an arrest warrant that allegedly is full of allegedlys.

She is still innocent until proven guilty…Correct? Or is that “allegedly” innocent until proven guilty?

And for $360.01 dollars, it would seem we are wasting taxpayer dollars? Perhaps some of the other ladies in the courthouse need to take a communications class, and learn how to resolve problems within.

Something smells a little fishy here! Shame on some of you!

Traci Eatherton

Editor’s Note: It is standard procedure when reporting on active criminal cases to use the word “allegedly” to specifically indicate that the person has been accused of the criminal behavior stated, but has not yet been found guilty or innocent in court.