Battle for solicitor heating up
Pascoe, Lafond take aim at each other
By Dave Munday
SUMMERVILLE — Attorney Benjy Lafond, a Republican, says he can do a better job of putting criminals in jail than 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe.
Pascoe, a Democrat running for re-election, says Lafond is running a negative campaign because he has nothing else to stand on.
Voters will decide who they believe when they head to the polls Nov. 4 to determine who's in charge of prosecuting criminal cases in Dorchester, Orangeburg and Calhoun counties.
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In a recent campaign mailing, Lafond said more cases are on the docket now than when Pascoe became solicitor four years ago, despite Pascoe's promise to reduce case load.
When Pascoe took office, 55 percent of the cases in the 1st Circuit had been on the docket for less than 180 days, according to a chart from the S.C. Court Administration, whose benchmark is 80 percent. As of June 30, only 34 percent of the cases were less than 180 days old, according to another chart mailed by Lafond. "In the last four years, the 1st Judicial Circuit hasn't moved any closer to the benchmark — in fact, the current solicitor has allowed the circuit to slip further behind," Lafond said in a statement.
Lafond vows to be more efficient and reduce the backlog and save taxpayer money. Lafond was deputy solicitor under Robby Robbins, the Republican Pascoe defeated four years ago.
Pascoe said that Dorchester County is second in the state when it comes to finishing cases in less than 180 days.
"More importantly, Benjy needs to stop equating justice with a number," Pascoe said. "Justice is sending cop killers like Mikal Mahdi to death row. Justice is sending people like Roger Johnson to prison for life for trying to kill two cops, and the many other violent felons my office has put away."
Both lawyers attacked the other's trial record.
Lafond accused Pascoe of accepting plea bargains when he should have pushed for tougher penalties. "Only two of 20 indictments for child rape were actually convicted for the crime last year in Dorchester County. The others were sentenced to time served, received probation or the cases were dismissed," a Lafond mailing said. "Only one-third of aggravated or repeat criminal domestic violence offenders were found guilty last year in Dorchester County. The others were sentenced to time served, probation or the cases were dismissed."
Pascoe said at least he has faced down tough criminals in court. "He (Lafond) is running to be the chief prosecuting attorney in the circuit, yet he has never won a murder trial," Pascoe said. "He has never even won an armed robbery, attempted murder, felony DUI, or drug-trafficking case. ... Benjy made a political decision months ago to run a negative campaign based on misinformation. I can't blame him, however. What else can he do? He has absolutely no prosecutorial record worth talking about to run on."
Lafond said his overall record is better than Pascoe's. "My 'win' rate was almost three times higher than his office during this time frame."
BENJY LAFOND
Benjy Lafond
PARTY: Republican
BIRTH DATE: Sept. 30, 1969
FAMILY: Wife, Toni, and two children
EDUCATION: Summerville High School; College of Charleston; University of South Carolina School of Law
OCCUPATION: Summerville town prosecutor; Governor's Guardian ad Litem Program attorney; owns Lafond Law Firm
PREVIOUS ELECTED OFFICE: None
SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME: "I rebuilt an old historic house myself, which my family and I now live in."
NAME A SPECIFIC GOAL YOU WOULD ACCOMPLISH IF ELECTED: "I will work toward having the highest incarceration rate for violent offenders, which will give victims justice and make our streets safer."
HOW TO CONTACT: benjy@summervillelawyer.com; benjyin2008.com.
DAVID PASCOE
David Pascoe
PARTY: Democratic
BIRTH DATE: March 2, 1967
FAMILY: Wife, Kristen, three sons
EDUCATION: The Citadel; University of South Carolina School of Law
OCCUPATION: 1st Circuit Solicitor
PREVIOUS ELECTED OFFICE: None before current office
SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME: "My favorite hobby is watching my three sons play sports."
NAME A SPECIFIC GOAL YOU WOULD ACCOMPLISH IF ELECTED: "While I'm very proud of having established a juvenile drug court program, I plan on having an adult drug court program at this time next year, despite the fact that we're going to get big cutbacks from the state budget."
HOW TO CONTACT: reelectpascoe.com.
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Tides (anonymous) says...
To bad they don't go after these crooked politicians and government employees.
October 28, 2008 at 5:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
prettywoman2457 (anonymous) says...
Too bad that 40 years w/time served is enough for someone who admitted that killing was his intention when he entered the home in Knightsville. Too bad that Dorchester county prosecutors have noses that aren't eye level, but too high up in the air to notice the real people. Its a good thing that Don Sorenson is gone, now to get ride of some more dead weight.
October 28, 2008 at 6:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
myheartwillgoon (anonymous) says...
The only thing negative about this race is David Pascoe's record. I have yet to see where Benjy has gone negative. Please give us an example.
October 28, 2008 at 9:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dorchestertoday (anonymous) says...
David thanks for pointing out your only two convictions during your term. The reason you can name Mikal and Roger is because you haven't convicted anybody else.
October 28, 2008 at 9:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
summervillerepub (anonymous) says...
I am crossing party lines to vote for Solicitor Pascoe. He is the only candidate qualified for the job and is doing a great job for Dorchester county.
October 28, 2008 at 9:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dorchestertoday (anonymous) says...
summervillerepub, You must be a Ray Nash supporter. The disgraced sheriff needs a job and Pascoe has promised him lead investigator for his help in securing right-wing nut votes.
October 28, 2008 at 10:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Greenwave_Medic (anonymous) says...
Benji Lafond has the education and experience to be the best solicitor for our district. As a Benji supporter I will apologize to Mr. Pascoe for the negative things that have been said about him during this campaign.
Mr. Pascoe on behalf of the supporters of Benji LaFond please accept my apology for him putting your record as an elected official and Chief Prosecutor out in the public for people to see what a waste of time the past four years has been.
October 28, 2008 at 5:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
thebull (anonymous) says...
This election wont be close. Pascoe will win in a landslide because he has done a great job. The amount of support he has on both ends of the county attests to that.
October 28, 2008 at 7:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lillycollette (anonymous) says...
I too would like to see crooked politicians and government employees brought to justice-especially evil little minion's of that corrupt family court system.
October 29, 2008 at 8:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dragonslayer (anonymous) says...
If you are interested in seeing the records, which are available to anyone, try http://www.dragonslayerpress.com/pasc.... They have all dispositions, under Pascoe's administration, there for your reading and education. Make up your own mind. The record speaks for itself.....plea bargains galore, very low incarcerations. Felons are among us, returned to the streets with the slap on the wrist by Pascoe's office.
October 29, 2008 at 5:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wjhamilton3 (anonymous) says...
I'm not sure you can measure the effectiveness of a prosecutor by the number of people he puts in Jail when the jails and prisons are full to their legal limit. SC has the 6th. highest incarceration rate in the US. We're also have the highest rate for violent crime. We can build and fill more prisons and jails if we want, but we just cut the Dpt. of correction's budget. Something is wrong with this state and locking more people up isn't fixing it. We can't afford it at the moment. Our costs of incarceration are lower than most states so we're efficient at locking people up. We just can't afford to lock up as many poeple was most voters would like. Just raise taxes, build prisons and jails and lock more people up. It doesn't work, but it's what you want to do.
October 29, 2008 at 6:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
upperendrepub (anonymous) says...
Pascoe, when I saw the dragonslayer was bashing you, you got my vote!!! They always go after conservative candidates who don't take part in good ole' boy politics.
October 29, 2008 at 6:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
pti1995 (anonymous) says...
The Dragonslayer! Ha! Lol! That's as much a joke as Benjy's candidacy. If the Slayer was a real media outlet, it would look into LeFond's record of dismissals, consenting to bond reductions for violent offenders, his horrible trial record, the fact that he plea bargained almost all his cases, and much more. However, it seems as though the Slayer is Lefond's puppet "media" outlet.
October 29, 2008 at 6:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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