Vote: Message From Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attornery

Mike May for Commonwealth’s Attorney

I strongly encourage the voters of Prince William County to support Mike May for Commonwealth’s Attorney. I will be voting for Mike because of his strong character and his good judgment in embracing some of the same crime-fighting policies advanced by our current long-serving Commonwealth’s Attorney, Paul B. Ebert, with whom I have had the honor to serve the people of Prince William County for more than 30 years.

Like the Progressive Democratic nominees for Commonwealth’s Attorney in Fairfax and Arlington Counties, Mike May’s opponent is pushing liberal “reforms” that will make Prince William County less safe for our citizens and our police officers.

While Mike has supported Paul Ebert’s consistent approach of reserving the death penalty for “the worst of the worst,” Mike’s opponent wants to see an end to capital punishment and has criticized Mr. Ebert’s record of successful capital murder prosecutions as an “embarrassment,” stating that, “When I’m elected, this trend will stop.” This dangerous position ignores at least three important and undeniable facts.

First, the availability of death penalty as a potential sentence for specific enumerated murders that constitute capital offenses is a function of our elected legislators in the General Assembly, not the Commonwealth’s Attorney. Second, no prosecutor has ever sentenced a capital murderer to death. That is a decision that we can only present to you, our citizens, who serve as jurors in such cases. And finally, the potential sentence of death for killing a law enforcement officer has provided additional protection for our police officers. Mr. Ebert and I have listened to recordings of criminals explaining that their failure to take an opportunity to shoot at a police officer in Virginia was due to the possibility of being put to death.

Our police officers deserve all the support we can give them. All Officers hope and pray that they never have to use deadly force against another human being. Mike May’s opponent has stated that when one of our police officers is involved in a shooting, she would recuse herself and have an outside prosecutor decide whether the shooting was justified. Mike May says that one of the reasons that we elect our Commonwealth’s Attorney is to make such difficult decisions. Mike is right about that, and he is right for the Office of Commonwealth’s Attorney for Prince William County.

I am approaching retirement after more than 40 years in criminal law enforcement as a police officer and a prosecutor. I do not want to see progressive, selective law enforcement take over in Prince William County, where our citizens and police officers deserve the safety and protection that Paul Ebert has helped provide for more than 50 years.

Mike’s opponent brags non-stop about having worked in this Office for 11 years. Yet she has failed to receive an endorsement from Paul Ebert or from the Prince William County Police Association. As one would expect, there are good reasons for that.

I am supporting Mike May for Commonwealth’s Attorney, and I urge all Prince William County voters to vote for Mike on November 5.

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Rick Conway, Chief Deputy

Commonwealth’s Attorney for Prince William County