To the Editor:
I am running for Madison County State’s Attorney as a career prosecutor not a politician.
I have sat across the room from countless grieving mothers, fathers, spouses and children. Given voices to those who cannot speak for themselves because their lives were senselessly taken by violence. Fought for justice for children who had literally no one else to fight for them. These are the moments that define what it means to be a prosecutor. My opponent has experienced none of these moments. He now has the audacity to sit on the sidelines of the criminal justice system slinging baseless accusations and insults without an ounce of knowledge about what it really means to prosecute a child murderer.
I have prosecuted and convicted thousands of criminals during my 15 years at the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office. I have secured convictions in over 50 murder cases. My opponent has never handled a murder trial, let alone sent any child murderer to prison.
My opponent has chosen to spend the final week before the election running a disingenuous smear campaign against myself and the State’s Attorney’s Office, instead of talking about his experience and his vision for the office. To make matters worse, he has employed a disgraced former Assistant State’s Attorney, Susan Jensen to do his dirty work alongside of him.
I defeated Susan Jensen in the primary election this spring. During my primary campaign I chose to take the high road rather than focus on her failures and dishonorable behavior. Susan Jensen was fired from the State’s Attorney’s Office multiple times by both Republican and Democrat state’s attorneys for conduct detrimental to the oath she took as a prosecutor. Most recently she was fired in December of 2018 and her run against me in the primary was obviously fueled by sour grapes as she is now purportedly supporting Haine, her former opponent, reversing her promise to voters during the primary election.
Their combined effort to somehow tie myself to the release of Kwayera Jackson is a desperate attempt to find something to attack my exemplary 15 year career in the State’s Attorney’s Office.
Kwayera Jackson was released from prison in April of 2020 by order of the governor without the consent of our office. Both my opponent and Susan Jensen had nothing to say regarding this release until seven days before the election. They have created a false narrative in an attempt to use the death of a child as political gamesmanship. They should both be ashamed of themselves. Thomas Haine may lack the experience of prosecuting the murder of a child, but as a father, he should know this is beyond the pale of the political mudslinging that voters unfortunately see at election time. If Susan Jensen actually cared for victims of violent crime, and wasn’t so overcome by bitterness, she wouldn’t be exploiting child crime victims.
I will continue to fight for all victims, especially the most vulnerable, as your next Madison County State’s Attorney.
Crystal Uhe, Democrat candidate for Madison County State's Attorney