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Court dates should be circled on your calendar

A couple of upcoming dates should be circled on the calendar of Ward County residents who believe in blind justice.

Those dates are Dec. 23 and Jan. 3, respectively. On Dec. 23, Judge Lolita G. Hartl Romanick will hear a motion to dismiss charges against suspended Ward County Sheriff Steve Kukowski. Jan. 3 is the trial date currently set for the case, assuming charges aren’t dismissed this month just in time for Christmas.

The holidays shouldn’t be an excuse for not paying attention to this important legal matter. Kukowski faces two misdemeanor charges related to the death of Ward County Jail inmate Dustin Irwin, in one of the scandals that has circulated around the jail over the past two years.

Last week, attorneys for Kukowski filed a shotgun motion to dismiss, tossing numerous proposals against the wall as to why the case should be dismissed, re-directing responsibility to other parties (including the Ward County Commission) and asserting somehow that holding Kukowski responsible for the death of an inmate in his care was somehow destructive to law enforcement.

Kukowski’s able attorneys certainly have the right to ask for dismissal and the former sheriff deserves the best possible defense. Furthermore, he remains entirely innocent unless and until he is found otherwise.

Innocent or guilty of misdemeanors is a matter separate of responsibility. If there is something dismaying about this entire case, both before and since Kukowski found himself as the lone individual charged, it is the utter abdication of responsibility by all parties when it comes to Irwin’s death. Irwin needed medical assistance, asked for it, was denied it and died. It did not have to happen. It was not an accident. It was not inevitable. Furthermore, he was in the care of the jail. Someone or some entity must be accountable for that. Perhaps Kukowski did not act in a way to cause that sad incident – that’s up to the court to decide. He did, however, accept the job that entailed being responsible for the jail, and it would seem ensuring people don’t die there would be top priority.

Hopefully, it will all come out I the wash – who is ultimately responsible. But there must be accountability, even if it adds a distasteful component to the holiday season.

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