From the October 1999 Idaho Observer:

Gov. Kempthorne tacitly consents to government abuse of citizens?

by Don Harkins

On the backpage of the September edition, we published all of the names and email addresses of the 21 people who make up Governor Dirk Kempthorne's staff above an open letter to them. We then forwarded the letter to the governor's staff and followed the letter with the stories of Rex Prewitt, Harley Lance and John Wimberley. Each segment sent to them was prefaced with a personalized note from me explaining how important it is for the governor's office and, therefore, the governor to take an interest if we can prove that government officials have engaged in behavior that has caused innocent people to be beaten, shot, imprisoned and even killed.

We found that the governor, nor his office or any other government entity, state or federal, cares at all when innocent voting taxpayers are beaten, shot, imprisoned or killed by government employees.

Prewitt and Lance are in prison for crimes the evidence shows they did not commit. Wimberley, 19, the evidence indicates, was murdered by “authorities” and the key evidence was literally covered up by a fresh layer of blacktop.

Over the course of several weeks now, we have appealed to the governor's staff to read the material and do something. The only responses forthcoming from the governor's staff were from Rich Stover of Constituent Services and Administrative Secretary Cathy Josling.

Josling's response, in all caps, was, “STOP E-MAILING THIS STUFF TO ME!!!”

Constituent Services representative Stover posted the following missive:

Dear Mr. Harkins,

This will acknowledge your e-mail regarding your legal issue. Personal legal matters or cases currently before the courts or subject to judicial proceedings do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Idaho. Therefore, I encourage you to work with a private attorney for a resolution to this matter.

If there is a state matter of interest to you, please feel free to contact the Governor at governor@gov.state.id.us or by U.S. Mail at P.O. Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0034.

Thank you,

Richard Stover
Office of the Governor
Phone: (208) 334-2100, Fax: (208) 334-3454

We have since received letters from the state attorney general's office and the office of U.S. Representative Helen Chenoweth regarding Rex Prewitt. Chenoweth cannot do anything because "...the jurisdiction of a United States Member of Congress does not extend to personal legal matters." The attorney general is impotent in matters of police brutality and judicial impropriety because, "Members of the Attorney General's staff are assigned to assist prosecutors and law enforcement in the prosecution of criminal offenses" and that the requests for help from the AG's office "...must be made by the respective prosecutor..." In the Prewitt case, the AG's office cannot help because it is unlikely that law enforcement and the county prosecutor will request help from the state AG to investigate themselves.

It is now crystal clear that there are no tax-paid remedies that taxpayers have access to when tax paid employees beat up, shoot and/or kill and/or imprison innocent people. The governor's office, which cannot help but to reflect the attitude of the governor, responded to the Prewitt, Lance and Wimberley stories by telling us to “STOP E-MAILING THIS STUFF TO ME!!!” and “to work with a private attorney for a resolution to this matter.”

We decided not to waste space by reprinting the email addresses and names of the governor's staff. We hope, however, that a few readers will realize that they are just one out-of-control policeman away from being Rex Prewitt, Harley Lance and John Wimberley; will refer to the backpage of the September edition and decide to contact the governor's office and ask one simple question: If the governor is willing to allow provably innocent men to be pepper sprayed, shot, and imprisoned by judges who allow prosecutors to manufacture evidence and swear an oath to false testimony; if the governor is willing to allow the apparent murder of a young man by “authorities” go uninvestigated, then what will the governor do when an out-of-control policeman shoots you and a judge sends you to prison for it?