An African Homicide & An American Candidate
Good Thing Bill Ritter's Last Name Isn't Janklow
By Erick Posted in 2006 | Featured Stories — Comments (25) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
UPDATE by Erick: For those just joining us from National Review, you might want to go here first.
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Bill Ritter is the Democrat nominee for Governor of Colorado against Congressman Bob Beauprez. Mr. Ritter is the former District Attorney for Denver County. One of the largest criticisms of Mr. Ritter is that he is very soft on crime. In fact, Mr. Ritter has regularly plea bargained illegal aliens charged with felonies down to misdemeanors so he would not have to deport them -- he's just that kind of forgiving guy.
I wonder if Mr. Ritter is so lenient to foreigners charged with crimes because of leniency shown to Mr. Ritter back in 1988. That is the year Mr. Ritter killed a man and was never prosecuted nor required or compelled to pay compensation to the widow and family of the deceased.
In 1988, Mr. Ritter and his family lived in Zambia as lay missionaries for the Catholic Church. Mr. Ritter's wife was a Peace Corp volunteer. According to a report from Zambian lawyers obtained by RedState, in 1988, Mr. Ritter killed a man named Mushibi Katiki Chinyama.
Read on . . .
From the Zambian lawyers' report:
Investigations have revealed that the road traffic accident herein occurred in May, 1988 when the deceased was hit by a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by Mr. Bill Ritter at Maloyi Village in Mongu at a spot where people usually crossed the road. Mr. Ritter was driving from Senanga District and heading towards Mongu District. According to eye witnesses, Mr. Ritter was over-speeding. The eye witnesses who include the deceased's son, John Makai Chinyama, stated that Mr. Ritter failed to reduce the speed in time or at all when approaching the spot where people crossed the road at Maloyi Village.
They also stated that after the accident, Mr. Ritter stopped the vehicle and requested the local people to assist him in putting Mr. Chinyama in the vehicle and that he took him to the hospital but that he unfortunately died on the way to the hospital.
The lawyers further report that "a police docket, or file was opened, to investigate the matter" and take action under a formal complaint. But, no charges were ever filed and, the lawyers report, "the docket and all other records of the case went missing in very suspicious circumstances."
Mr. Ritter was never prosecuted and he never compensated the family, which lost its head of household. The law in Zambia is very clear. Again, from the Zambian lawyer:
Any person who causes the death of another person by the driving of a motor vehicle on a road recklessly, or at a speed, or in a manner which is dangerous to the public, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, including the nature, condition and use of the road, and the amount of traffic which is actually at the time, or which might reasonably be expected to be, on the road, shall be guilty of an offence and liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding fifteen thousand penalty units or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, or to both.
§ 199 (1)of the Roads and Road Traffic Act, Cap 464 of the Laws of Zambia
Mrs. Zhita Ngumbu Chinyama is still alive and in her late eighties. She lives in Maloyi Village in Mongu, which is in the Western Province of Zambia. Mrs. Chinyama "complained bitterly that Mr. Ritter was not prosecuted and that no proper explanation was ever given by the Police or the Courts as to why Mr. Ritter was not prosecuted. She also complained about the family not having been compensated after the death of her husband."
The average family income in Zambia is $580. Fifty percent of the country is unemployed. Mr. Ritter could have very easily compensated Mrs. Chinyama and her family, but he did not. Instead, he returned to the United States and used the story of his missionary work in Zambia to gain greater prominence and boost his profile as he headed toward seeking elected office. But he never mentioned the death of Mr. Chinyama. Only when confronted recently about his involvement in Mr. Chinyama's death did Mr. Ritter have to confront it. The Denver Post profile said
Ritter and Billy Fuller, a fellow missionary riding with him, say they scrambled out of the car to see whether the man, an elderly villager, was all right. Then, they placed him in the back of the truck and rushed him to a hospital, they say. The man, whom Ritter soon discovered was the father of a local priest he knew, died within 24 hours.
And yet, though Mr. Ritter knew the family, Mrs. Chinyama says Mr. Ritter never paid any sort of compensation to her family. Losing the head of household in Zambia, who Mr. Chinyama was, is a devastating loss.
Perhaps Mr. Ritter is lenient with criminals in Denver County because of leniency shown him in Zambia. But there is a widow in Zambia who woke up one day with her husband only to see him run over by Mr. Ritter.
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An African Homicide & An American Candidate 25 Comments (0 topical, 25 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
And a great job of spreading the Word as a missionary there, as well.
the Zambian law says that the accident victim's relatives should be compensated if the driver was speeding. The eyewitness to the accident was a relative who would be compensated if Ritter was indeed speeding.
For whatever reason, the local officials chose not to prosecute him at the time. Most likely because they deemed it an accident and there wasn't sufficient reason to think that he was speeding. Now, almost 20 years later, the deceased relatives are complaining that he wasn't prosecuted and want compensation.
This smells fishy to me. It would be interesting to see how this story found its way into the hands of Redstate right before the election.
I've known many Christian missionaries personally and admire their work. I'm not so quick to smear one, even if he is a Democrat.
the widow is STILL complaining, you mean. The gall, to keep complaining over the loss of one guy. Doesn't she know there are careers at stake here?
/snark
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There be one Cap'n here, and it ain't you.
Doesn't mean I -- or they -- can kill somebody and get away with it. "Unimpeachable character" does not mean no mistakes -- but having a profession of character, such as being a Christian missionary, doesn't automatically mean that a person will do what is right, either.
We're not "fake-but-accurate" here; we'll leave that to the Lefties in the MSM and on the other side of the blogosphere, thanks very much. And check out the story first, and worry about the timing second, eh? I don't think the timing of a story breaking is what should disqualify a person from becoming a Governor -- it's their actions themselves.
The veracity of the witnesses to an event like this is always a fair enough question, but the timing? It's still six weeks to Election Day. If Ritter has something to say about this he has plenty of time to say it.
"No compromise with the main purpose, no peace till victory, no pact with unrepentant wrong." - Winston Churchill
For a righteous man to say: I had a traffic accident that killed a man, something I think about every time I get behind the wheel or hear the word "Africa", and sometimes when I don't.
It leaves a hole about compensating the widow, but I can't run the whole campaign from here.
The righteous man doesn't hide from the truth, but behind it.
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There be one Cap'n here.
Yeah, this doesn't add up. Where's the motivation for a coverup? He could have just as easily used the episode Clinton-style, a tragedy that changed his outlook on life, etc. Also hard to see motive for not compensating (assuming it's true); it'd be interesting to know what the widow was saying 10, 15, 20 years ago, or if there's any record of her protest, etc. - and where the story came from. Plus it strikes me as a nasty tactic that might backfire...hard to tell from the info presented.
Be nice or i'll slap you cross-eyed!
- Granny
No curiosity on the facts of the story, or whether or not as a missionary one might feel a mere moral obligation to pay compensation to the elderly widow of someone you just squashed while driving an SUV, just curiosity on how we got the story? Not even curiosity on why Ritter hasn't been forthcoming?
And we haven't even covered the part about the two goats and the transvestite.
Interesting.
Yes, plenty of curiosity about the facts, but I see no link to a source of more facts or any confirming 3rd parties. I'd love to hear more facts before folks get all worked up into a Rather over it. Let's walk the walk here.
Be nice or i'll slap you cross-eyed!
- Granny
The Denver Post article has a remark that the local police ruled it an accident at the time. Someone here calls it homicide.
Who is the better judge... the local police of the time who interviewed witnesses, or a political website 18 years later just a few weeks before an election?
If the candidate was a Republican (not exactly farfetched) and this exact article appeared on a moonbat website, we'd all be up in arms about it.
This really grates me because the candidate was a Christian missionary. They take a lot of risks by carrying the cross into hostile regions.
1. check the definition of homicide. Dictionary.com can be your best friend or at least prevent you from looking really stupid.
2. As the source isn't us, it is a law firm in Zambia representing the spouse of the deceased your question is a non sequitur. The answer is that we don't know, do we?
3. It isn't, we aren't, and when you say "we" I presume you are speaking for yourself and the mouse in your pocket.
4. exactly right except the risk, in this case, seems to be disporportionately borne by elderly pedestrians flatten by speeding Land Rovers.
And in honor of the day, and your posting history, ARRRR, walk the plank, matey!
Exactly. But you seem to be in a awful rush to presume guilt and deceit here. Why not set the example here? And you're dodging legit questions. In my line of work I am reminded daily about the impact of poor journalism and investigatory standards. Don't be your own worst enemy. Give us some more facts and/or some outside confirmation of what you have so we can sort through this rationally.
Be nice or i'll slap you cross-eyed!
- Granny
Is there any word out there in the MSM about this?
I think the previous poster's comments re: due skepticism are well taken.
Its not as if the candidate has never referenced the accident--exactly how forthcoming is he supposed to be?
This is, for better or for worse, the way elections are won. And Erick is just doing his job. But its not particularly thrilling for the Republic.
Unfortunately Billy will be Gov in Colorado.The incompetency of the Good Old P(B)oys of the GOP in Colorado under the "leadership" of Martinez fairly guaranties it. Under GOP leadership nothing was accomplished. After loosing the House and Senate they now will have a Democrat as the new Gov and also given the general dissatisfaction of the populace with the clintonite, incompetent Gov Owens the GOP will not make a comeback very soon!
Much as I want the Republican candidate to win, I don't see the need for RedState to be trading in this kind of politics. We need to support our candidates and win elections on the strength of their ideas. We should not be engaged in this kind of muckraking.
The post makes it clear that this incident was investigated by the local authorities who, for whatever reason, decided that no charges were warranted. That is the only standard that should matter. Holding the other guy's candidate to a standard of "shouldn't he have done X," only legitimizes the tactic when the other guys use it on our candidates.
Just my two cents.
Develop alternatives to existing policies and keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes the politically inevitable. Milton Friedman
I don't see how that's ever wholly irrelevant. I think the voters deserve to know this, and can make up their own minds.
"No compromise with the main purpose, no peace till victory, no pact with unrepentant wrong." - Winston Churchill
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If you're seeing shades of gray, it's because you're not looking close enough to see the black and white dots.
Except in this case, his character is being assailed based upon an arbitrary standard applied to something he didn't do. It's not like he had affair, which would be deliberate conduct and universally accepted as wrong. He had a traffic accident. One in which a man was tragically killed. Furthermore, the investigating authorities determined that the evidence of his actions in the death of the man did not warrant bringing charges.
None of us knows what Mr. Ritter did, if anything for the deceased's family. We do know that he seems to have expressed sufficient concern for the man to take it upon himself to rush the man to a hospital. He did all he could do at the time. None of us knows what the customs of Zambia are in regard to this kind of thing. Perhaps the man's family would have been highly insulted if Ritter tried to assuage their grief with money. None of us knows how this affected Mr. Ritter personally. I would hope, though, that he is a much more careful driver.
Bottom line, for me, this was a tragic accident and no more.
In any case, my larger point was that exposing things like this is not politics, its character assassination. This kind of stuff is practiced to an art by the other side, and should not be wielded by us or our candidates.
Develop alternatives to existing policies and keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes the politically inevitable. Milton Friedman
because Bill Ritter got his start in politics largely because of the good will he generated for himself as a missionary in Africa. Back in 1993, he was appointed by Governor Romer to the office of District Attorney of Denver. Ritter won appointment over a number of more experienced and politically connected candidates. Here’s the headline of the Rocky Mountain News for May 28, 1993:
HEADLINE: GOVERNOR NAMES DARK HORSE DA PROSECUTOR RITTER'S MISSION IN AFRICA CITED AS A FACTOR IN CHOOSING NON-POLITICAL CANDIDATE
And through his long tenure as District Attorney, there was never a mention of this accident. Then Bill Ritter was running for Governor and his campaign team decided to capitalize on his time as a missionary, so they made a video that put it forward as a credential for office, much as it had been long ago with Roy Romer.
The Denver Post must have found out about the accident and they ambushed him in a profile piece over the summer:
"Barely a year into his service, he accidentally killed a man - an episode he rarely talks about and didn't bring up in multiple interviews with The Denver Post until asked."
I personally admire Bill Ritter for going out to Africa, but we may have a more richly textured story here than the one candidate Ritter has presented. As any good prosecutor knows, it would be prudent to gather all the facts, from all the parties and witnesses involved before making a judgment.
What I don’t understand in all of this is why an experienced prosecutor like Bill Ritter, who was a prosecutor before he left for Africa, didn’t have the sense to keep the documentation on this accident that would serve to clear his name? No police report or a case file?
Wouldn’t a man who knew that he would be going back to a prosecutor’s job after Africa have taken the necessary measures to protect his professional reputation? Shouldn’t he have known better than to rely simply on his personal testimony? If he were handling this case, would he rely on the driver’s testimony alone?
But I get ahead of myself. This is starting to sound like a Tim O’Brien novel.
One of the largest criticisms of Mr. Ritter is that he is very soft on crime. In fact, Mr. Ritter has regularly plea bargained illegal aliens charged with felonies down to misdemeanors so he would not have to deport them -- he's just that kind of forgiving guy.
What is your basis for this claim? Unless I'm mistaken, plea bargaining is a common tactic used by DA's trying to get criminals to testify against their accomplices. What is the basis for your claim that Ritter was dropping charges only because his suspects were illegal immigrants? For that matter, how would "he," a Denver DA, "have to deport" anyone? Isn't that the job of the INS, which deports any illegal immigrant who finds himself in the custody of police for any reason, felony or otherwise? And what sort of felonies are we talking about here, petty larcony or murder or something else?
If you don't have the answers to these questions, is there at least a link to some articles that address this particular charge? I might just be missing the backstory here.
There’s been a lot of discussion in Denver about how Bill Ritter used the plea bargain version of the blue light special to get a high conviction rate. It’s been discussed at length in the blogs.
You see, plea bargains aren’t just used to get one perp to testify against another, they are also used to clear the case load quickly. Very often they end up pushing violent criminals onto the streets where they offend again. One recent study (I think Texas A&M did it for the federal government) reported that 15 people are killed each day in the United States by convicted criminals on some form of government supervised release, in most cases due to plea bargains.
With regards to your question, I don’t know the particulars, but I believe the reference is to a common practice in some jurisdictions whereby cases are pled down and then suspended, provided the defendant is turned over to INS for deportation. Basically, the convicted criminal gets a bus ticket as his punishment. Unfortunately, if they have a support system in the city they’re deported from, they come back and often offend again.
I don’t know if Denver was big on this, but I’ll look into it for you if you want.
Oh, another thing, I noticed some people on this site taking a very high and mighty stand about bringing up Bill Ritter’s accident in Africa. Don’t worry about him, he’s a big boy and he can take it. I think he’s a fool for not just offering a complete and thorough explanation, with documentation, and have done with it.
He’s allowed this to go on too long because he’s too proud and wants people to take his word because he says it’s so. That’s what I think anyway. Either that or all he has is his word and that would be pretty sloppy and out of character for him.
Bill Ritter knows that someone in the public eye is fair game. I remember when he was one of DA Alex Hunter’s consulting prosecutors on the Ramsey case. Some people were concerned that too much pressure was being brought to bear on the parents, but that didn’t stop Bill from piling on by bringing in a former Miss America to comment on CNN (February 27, 1997):
“Ritter said that (Marilyn Van Derbur) Atler was consulted because she is respected for her insight ‘in cases where children are in some way abused, and this is certainly an abuse case with respect to JonBenet. I mean, she was murdered.’
He said there were also parallels between the Van Derbur and Ramsey families. Both were both families of means, and both a part of the beauty pageant circuit.
Atler also appeared on CNN's ‘Larry King Live,’ and said she would talk to the police as often as they needed her to. Her gut feeling, she said, was that the murder was not premeditated, but rather that it was ‘sexual abuse gone to the extreme.’”
The parents were civilians, not politicians. They didn’t choose to have their daughter murdered. I like Bill Ritter and might even vote for him (if not, I’ll go Green), but he chose to be in politics. He can handle the scrutiny.
this one didn't drown.
Remember: cars don't kill, people do.
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There be one Cap'n here.