Sigh. Here in the South, we do politics the old-fashioned way...[shaking head back and forth is dismay]

If you've been following my blog, you know I've included updates in the murder of a local sheriff. No doubt Zabet's thinking, okay, what are you, obsessed with macabre stories? (The answer is yes. I once freaked out a carload of people by reading a passage from a book [that she gave me] on forensic anthropology that described the layers of decay in a septic system. What can I say, some people freak at the sound of maggots. I only freak at the sight of them.) Well, I promise, this'll be the last update, unless it just takes some totally bizarre turn that demands comment. ;)

The latest? A former deputy who was running against Sam Catron has been charged in the case, along with the alleged triggerman (a campaign worker for the candidate.) Another campaign worker has been charged with complicity. If you want details, go here.

We'll take as given that they're innocent until proven guilty. But if they are guilty, it's a sad, cowardly way to take, and worse, it apparently didn't go off as planned. (Okay, I have a thing against murder. I have an even greater thing against incompetent murder.) The man who was supposed to have pulled the trigger was supposed to have paused after shooting the sheriff in the head before running away (to see how he'd done?) then got on a motorcycle registered to this rival candidate, only to be chased by the law enforcement officers and firemen (who, after all, were in the crowd,) and eventually wrecked the motorcycle during the chase. I mean, if you were going (theoretically) to kill a well-known official, wouldn't you try to get him in an isolated area, and make it, oh, not so obviously an assassination when it's only a month until the primary? Maybe they thought Catron's appearance on TV concerning a fugitive former militia member would muddy the waters.

That's one difference between real criminals and the one's in mystery novels. You're average, intelligent mystery reader probably wouldn't believe the scenario above. It's just not suspenseful enough. Unfortunately, these sorts of things happen (and according to the news story, particularly in the South). I still think we are carrying a long-standing heritage of blood-feuds around in our culture, and I doubt we'll fully see them fade. The Celts are prevalent in Appalachia; they've been doing this for a long time. And while I'm respectful of my roots, this sort of thing doesn't solve any problems and just makes you (and your entire region) look bad. Sigh.

I guess what makes it hit home for someone in the area, but not the vicinity of this, is visiting the Pulaski County Sheriff's department web site, seeing the welcome message from Sheriff Catron, and seeing the link to his e-mail. That's one more person who's gone from the world for a completely stupid reason. They're already debating whether he was acting in his capacity as sheriff when he was shot (this carries an additional penalty in the Commonwealth of Kentucky [let me guess, you thought we were a state, right?].) I guess it'll be a long road ahead.