Patrick Cannon indicted again. Are feds piling up on him?
The Story
Patrick Cannon, our former mayor now in federal prison for accepting bribes, just got indicted again. This time, for election fraud.
Ex-Mayor Patrick Cannon indicted on voter fraud. He cast ballot after guilty plea http://t.co/67drB1HL36 pic.twitter.com/RbCIcKDAIa
— Charlotte Observer (@theobserver) February 3, 2015
The Facts
– Cannon is a convicted felon.
– Convicted felons are not supposed to vote.
– In October’s early voting, after pleading guilty but before going to prison, Cannon cast his vote.
– That’s a felony.
– In response, a judge put Cannon under house arrest until he reported to prison.
– Now, a grand jury has indicted Cannon on election fraud.
– Legal experts say he’ll likely just get probation, not any more prison time.
The Suspicions
Cannon is already serving a 44-month sentence in a West Virginia corrections facility. He did his house arrest time. Now, folks are wondering what’s up with this indictment.
“I’m asking myself the question that many, many people will be asking. Patrick Cannon publicly acknowledged voting inadvertently, that it was a mistake on his part, a mistake he regretted very much. A federal judge who heard the case decided that the appropriate sanction was to place him under house arrest. So what is the purpose of this indictment under these circumstances?” – James Ferguson, Cannon’s attorney.
Patrick Cannon’s attorney says he can’t understand why his client voter fraud charges or the motivation of it.More at 5 on WBTV.
— Steve Crump WBTV (@SteveCrumpWBTV) February 3, 2015
Patrick Cannon, already in federal prison for bribery, has been indicted again for illegally voting. Hit keeps coming for former CLT Mayor
— Dianne Gallagher (@DianneG) February 3, 2015
– “Well, we all know the truth behind this. He has already admitted his guilt and will surely be found guilty as charged.That in turn will now give all those railing about the widespread and rampart voter fraud that is taking place in America at lest one conviction to respond with when challenged to produce evidence. Yes, they will now have one conviction to respond with.” – Howard Faison, CharlotteObserver.com commenter
– “Wow!!! What an example they are making of him.” – Sandra Morgan, Facebook
– “Everyone one forgets about John Edwards. Stole a million and had a child outside his marriage an didn’t do a day in jail. So you tell me what’s wrong with the court system. It’s funny how people remember what they want to remember. I’m not saying what Patrick did was right but you do the math.” – Nathaniel Lipscomb, Facebook
– “Continue kicking a man when he is already down. Just let it be!” – John H. West, Jr., Facebook
C5’s Take
We didn’t see this coming, either. We assumed the house arrest was the slap on the wrist he was going to get. Whether the indictment is justice or piling on, we’re not sure where to cast our vote on this one. As it stands now, Cannon could get out in about 2 1/2 years, thanks to a drug-treatment program he enrolled in that could shave a year off his sentence.
Photos: Davie Hinshaw, Jeff Siner, John D. Simmons, Diedra Laird / Charlotte Observer
This story was originally published February 4, 2015 at 1:09 AM with the headline "Patrick Cannon indicted again. Are feds piling up on him?."