As I expected, the Tisaby fiasco ended, in the words of T.S. Elliot, “not with a bang but a whimper.” Kim Gardner’s hand-picked and personally hired chief investigator in the Greitens debacle case avoided trial by entering into a plea agreement that resulted in his six felony perjury and one felony tampering with evidence charges being reduced to a single misdemeanor of tampering with evidence and his being placed on bench probation for one year.
The comic relief in all this was provided by comments from the defense during the plea. Mr. Tisaby told Judge Hettenbach that “My whole life, I’ve dedicated to doing justice.” His defense lawyer, Jermaine Wooten, a close friend and vocal supporter of Kim Gardner (surely no conflict of interest?), in an even more masterly display of irony told the judge that Mr. Tisaby “was a very honest man who thought he was doing everything right.”
The concerning part of all this is I believe Mr. Tisaby and Mr. Wooten were actually being truthful during the plea. I think Mr. Tisaby believes he has done justice his whole life and that his criminal actions were just. Similarly, Mr. Wooten was correct when he said that Mr. Tisaby believed he was doing the right thing. There is a certain type of self-righteousness sometimes found in bad (incompetent) prosecutions, and it was abundant in the Greitens case. It’s the notion that as the good guy I will do whatever it takes to get the “bad guy,” including lying, tampering with evidence, etc. It ignores the fundamental aspect of what constitutes justice: that how you go about things is just as important as the result (the means are just as important, perhaps more important, than the ends).
It’s very sad that a man who has dedicated “his whole life to doing justice” has his career end by pleading guilty to a crime, and one that involves trying to circumvent justice.
I’m not certain what effect this will have on Kim Gardner’s pending ethics violation hearing that is currently set for April 11th. It seems a deal may have been struck there as well. I’ve heard that the witnesses for the hearing have been called off.