By Staff
When a state official acknowledges his or her agency made a mistake, especially one that played a role in the death of someone, that acknowledgment is going to get some attention.
As it should.
That’s what is happening in the wake of Robert Lee Guy’s statement that he’s embarrassed by his agency’s handling of one of the defendants charged in the slaying of Eve Carson, who was the University of North Carolina’s student body president. Guy is director of the state Division of Community Corrections.
Although he owns up to mistakes being made, Guy told The Associated Press it is unfair to question whether his staff bears some responsibility for her death. He’s wrong. That’s a fair question to ask. If his staff does not bear some responsibility for Carson’s death, that needs to be known. If his staff does bear some responsibility for Carson’s death, that fact needs to be known and handled appropriately by Guy.
Guy acknowledges that about 10 staff members had contact with the case of Demario Atwater, one of the two suspects in the death of Carson on March 5. That contact came during the nearly three years between his conviction and the March 5 death of Eve Carson, according to Guy. Those staffers noticed warning signs during that period, but they did not follow through on checking out those warning signs, Guy said.
In his defense, Guy contends that if his staff members had followed its policies and procedures, Atwater and Laurence Lovette, the other suspect in Carson’s death, may not have been in custody when Carson was murdered.
In the wake of Guy’s revelations, the Division of Community Corrections must review its policies and procedures to make sure they provide the highest level of protection for the public. And if those policies and procedures are deemed to provide that level of protection, the division must make sure its employees carry out those policies and procedures as required.
Any effort that falls short of that is unacceptable.
Part of the problem may be conditions under which corrections employees work.
An investigation discovered that Lovette’s probation officer was working in a situation that included lack of training, cases being constantly reassigned and continuing staff vacancies. That indicates the division may not have adequate funding and other resources to carry out its duties. If that’s the case, perhaps the General Assembly should shoulder some of the blame for the division failing to carry out its duties.
When it comes to protecting the public, that should be the first priority of any government, at any level. In this case, that protection came up short. Just ask Carson’s family, friends and classmates.
No DCC employees have been fired over this incident, yet. Three senior DCC officials have been reassigned. Other disciplinary actions, permanent and temporary, may be taken, Guy said.
While those punishments may be needed, they should not be the only orders of the day.
Changes must be made to minimize — even eliminate — the possibility that DCC employees will make similar mistakes that result in future tragic outcomes.