County prosecutor's win-at-all-cost mentality elevates convictions over justice | Opinion

In the recent Enquirer article, "Critics dismiss Hamilton County integrity unit as 'political stunt,'" two things caught my attention.

First, that the "integrity unit" supposedly established by our prosecutors' office is totally fake. It’s not anything similar to "real" integrity units that other prosecutors have established; it is a mirror image. If the best practice is to have someone from outside be the unit’s head, then the one here is one of the longest-serving employees. If there are parameters and practices that work best − do the opposite. This is just an election-year stunt from a very tired and inbred office.

Tired and inbred? Practices − usually not the "best" − have been handed down for generations. Yes, literally. One party has held the office for almost a century. And with a "win at all cost" mentality that elevates convictions over justice.

That brings us to my second point, the sign. The sign, reproduced in the article, hangs in the prosecutors’ office. It states the directions given to then-Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, one of the real heroes of the Civil War, to hold his regiment’s position at Gettysburg at all cost. Chamberlain and his men (20th Maine) did so at great cost, and by his bravery and ingenuity. When they literally ran out of ammunition, Chamberlain led a bayonet charge, with empty guns, that so surprised the enemy that they surrendered. He was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Chamberlain was a rhetoric professor at Bodoin College who volunteered for the war to end slavery. He was wounded many times. After the war he was elected governor of Maine for five (one-year) terms, then became the president of Bodoin. He was a true citizen hero.

But holding Little Round Top against a pro-slavery army at Gettysburg is not the same as being a prosecutor. A prosecutor’s job is not just convicting people. The prosecutor’s client is justice. It is a win when a guilty person is convicted; it is equally a win when an innocent person is set free.

But the sign implies that our prosecutors are led to believe that they are "holding the fort" against evil. Unfortunately, that tends to be the mentality there. But it is wrong, as the recent spate of reversals of improper convictions uncovered by The Enquirer shows.

Our prosecutors’ office is long overdue for change. It has been held by an uninterrupted string of Republicans for more than 90 years. There have been both good and bad occupants of the office. But no party should hold an office forever. Reform would start with removing that sign and establishing a real ethics office.

Mark Painter served for exactly 30 years as a judge (Ides March 1982–Ides March 2012). He was elected to the Ohio Court of Appeals in 1994, serving until 2009. Previously, he served on the Hamilton County Municipal Court for 13 years. In 2009, he was elected by the General Assembly to the United Nations Appeals Tribunal. He was the only American on the seven-member court. He is the author of six books and hundreds of nationally published opinions.