On June 16 Steve Parker wrote a letter to the editor about the Adam Keene day care case, attempting a legal argument about misdemeanor versus felony charges while lacking all the facts. With every open case there is information that we are required to present only to the jury or the judge but I can comment generally on the relevant Maine law.

Every criminal charge is analyzed by the district attorney’s office in consultation with state and local authorities. As your district attorney, I make the final decision, but only after a complete analysis by my very competent and hard working staff.

17-A MRSA sec. 554-B requires the state to prove that a person knowingly gave a dangerous weapon to a child. Reckless conduct (17-A MRSA sec. 211) requires the state to prove that a person recklessly created a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to another person. Mental state was a direct consideration. But even if it wasn’t, mental state is always a factor as there is a different level of criminal culpability whether or not the harm was intentional. We selected 17-A MRSA sec. 211 after careful consideration of these and other factors.

I am happy to discuss the general operation of the DA’s office with the writer or any other reader with questions. In the past six months the district attorney’s office has overcome an eight month backlog of cases, and has won law court appeals, court trials, and jury trials. I could not be prouder of the hard work and dedicated brilliance of every person working in the district attorney’s office.

Maeghan Maloney

District Attorney

Kennebec and Somerset counties