In their first head-to-head debate, the Republican and Democratic candidates for attorney general battled over Democrat Douglas Gansler?s handling of the sniper trial.
Wednesday night at the Park School, Gansler, the Montgomery County state?s attorney, cited his recent prosecution of serial D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad ? who had already been convicted in Virginia ? as evidence that he doesn?tlet politics or criticism affect his decisions.
“When I made the decision to prosecute the sniper case in Montgomery County, some people who didn?t know the facts of the case complained about it,” Gansler said in the debate sponsored by the Baltimore Jewish Council. “They said ?This is a bad thing.? Obviously it was a no-brainer, and it worked out incredibly well for the families in the community. Obviously you prosecute somebody who killed six people in the community.”
But Republican Scott Rolle, the Frederick County State?s Attorney, and Gansler got into a dispute when Gansler said the case cost less than $2,000 to prosecute.
“He told you the sniper case cost $2,000,” Rolle said. “The sheriff of Montgomery County said it cost him $750,000. We need to be accurate about this. If you decided the case was worthy of prosecution, defend it. But don?t tell the taxpayers it cost $2,000 when it really cost three-quarters of a million.”
Rolle also said Gansler defied Virginia prosecutors by trying the case, when they asked him not to do so.
Gansler said that statement is false.
