Convicted Cop Killer Endorses Judge in Wis. Supreme Court Race
A man convicted of killing a policeman has endorsed a candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a letter that praises the lawyer’s work defending him 15 years ago.
Inmate Ted Oswald offered his endorsement of Judge Randy Koschnick in a letter to the Associated Press. Koschnick, who is opposing Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson in the April 7 election, has positioned himself as a law enforcement candidate, according to the AP story.
Oswald was 18 when he and his father robbed a bank and then opened fire on police, the AP story says. Koschnick and a second public defender who represented Oswald argued he had been brainwashed by his father into participating in the crimes. Oswald told AP in the letter that the PDs “carried out their duty to a defendant’s cause.”
“If Judge Koschnick is selected for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, his voluminous first-hand knowledge of defense cases and the personalities of accused criminals would bestow to that court a fairer, more effective and more trustworthy perspective,” Oswald wrote.
Koschnick agrees that public defenders perform a vital job, but distanced himself from Oswald’s praise in a statement, according to the AP report. “He is free to say whatever he wants, but his endorsement is no honor to me,” Koschnick said.
