To the editor: Commonwealth’s attorney candidate Josh Katcher is not altruistic and will impede progress if elected.
The criminal-justice system desperately needs to be changed. Four years ago, Arlington and the city of Falls Church elected Parisa Dehghani-Tafti to do just that.
I participated in the commonwealth’s attorney’s community-sponsored classes to learn about restorative justice. I understand and appreciate how Dehghani-Tafti is trying to give our community more options for just outcomes. She has sought out incarceration where appropriate, but having the option of restorative justice – a difficult process for wrongdoers – can make some victims whole when incarceration cannot.
Katcher has exploited a mother’s grief. As a mother who has lost a child in tragic circumstances, I know grief. I miss my daughter every day. Katcher has used the recent death of a child and the mother’s grief for political purposes, and I am appalled, knowing where I was emotionally soon after the loss of my child.
I am impressed that Dehghani-Tafti has respected the mother’s grief and taken the high road as Katcher has unfairly maligned her. Katcher has launched a hostile critique of the incumbent, while avoiding acknowledging that he could not have gotten a different outcome in the case under Virginia law. I find it reprehensible and shameful that Katcher uses a mother’s grief as the cornerstone of his political campaign.
It is up to you, the voter, to decide on the future of Arlington and Falls Church. A vote for Dehghani-Tafti is a vote for a candidate who is altruistic and believes in real justice and democracy.
Dehghani-Tafti has a vision, as do most of us who supported her four years ago.Since taking office, she has accomplished many of her objectives as she transitions Arlington and Falls Church into a more honest, just system. And that is real justice. And that is real reform.
Sharon Webster, Arlington
