So here’s a bit of good news:
In the race to succeed longtime Pinellas County Judge Henry Andringa, Cathy McKyton defeated Scott Andringa. Scott Andringa is Henry Andringa’s son.
I don’t know anything about Cathy McKyton, except that Brian Tannebaum supported her, which means she probably isn’t a complete tool. On the other hand, I know plenty about her opponent, Scott Andringa. He’s the complete tool who prosecuted Richard Paey for drug dealing and sent him to prison for 25 years, even though the drugs were Paey’s pain medication, which he needs because he has a back injury from a car crash and failed surgery. He also has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair. And he’s a husband and father of three.
Fortunately for Paey, the Governor of Florida agreed that he didn’t belong in prison and granted him a full pardon.
As for Andringa, he went into a private criminal defense practice, where he touted his prosecution of Paey as “a drug trafficking case that was featured on 60 Minutes, Nightline and in the New York Times,” neglecting to mention that it was featured in those news sources because so many people thought it was a terrible thing to do. He’s now a cancer survivor, and he’s apparently known for giving inspirational speeches about it.
As I said in a comment to one of my own posts earlier:
That Scott Andringa also does good in the world, like speaking for cancer patients, is one of the complications of human behavior. I’m not trying to discourage him from his charitable work. I’m glad he’s helping people. He can help people all he wants. But I don’t want him to ever again be in a position to decide who should be punished.
And at least for now, he won’t be.
(Hat tip: Radley Balko)