Athens County is better off without its corrupt former sheriff.
A Facebook group supporting former Sheriff Pat Kelly has gained plenty of traction in the aftermath of an 18-charge guilty verdict served to Kelly earlier this month.
The group, titled “Justice for Sheriff Kelly,” was closing in on 400 likes as of press time, with many messages of support for Kelly flooding its wall. Those messages include the likes of “I will forever support my sheriff and his amazing family,” and “I support pat (sic). I don’t think he did anything the others didn’t do! Why would you work all your life to do something and just through (sic) it away. He has made Athens county a safer place! Was hard worker at his job.”
It’s understandable that some in Athens County feel a strong connection to Kelly.
He was elected to office twice by substantial margins, even as the case against him was being built up by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office during his second campaign in 2012.
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He certainly was able to help citizens in their day- to-day lives, including one commenter in the Facebook group who posted: “Sheriff Kelly saved me from the hands of a mad man in 1991...I will always be grateful...He has my support.”
However, Athens County is clearly better off without a corrupt sheriff.
The state was able to prove to a jury of Athens County residents — Kelly’s peers — beyond reasonable doubt that Kelly used county tax dollars for less-than-desirable purposes, including lining his own wallet. The 12 counts of theft in office of which he was deemed guilty show Kelly used his position of power to use tax dollars for personal gain, and a portion of those tax dollars came from the paychecks of the people who are defending him online.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: editor-in-chief Jim Ryan, managing editor Sara Jerde, opinion editor Xander Zellner and projects editor Allan Smith. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage.
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