When we first reported the murder at Ely Max it seemed like a pretty cut and dried story.
One inmate killed another inmate.
The killer, Michael Ofeldt already serving a lengthy sentence for a whole string of violent crimes is not a nice person.
Cut and dried we thought and we assumed that Ofeldt would cop a deal, admit to a lesser charge and simply have another 20 years tacked on to a sentence that already stretched far, far into the future.
At the very worst, we assumed, Ofeldt would fight the charge and be found guilty of first degree murder and then get the death sentence. While there is a bit of sensationalism in that story in reality it does not mean much. The way the death penalty works in Nevada is one gets sentenced to die and one does– of old age.
Bottom line even if the very worst scenario happen the only change Ofeldt would experience would be to change cells from one wing of the prison to another.
Not much of a story really.
Except for a little thing called justice.
Mike Ofeldt might not be an innocent man but he also may not have committed murder.
When we first obtained documents to the case we knew they made a better story.
But seriously we were still talking about prison gossip and everyone knows that cons lie all the time.
We did however expect more from state prosecutors.
We did not however expect more from Charles Odgers.
The Ely Public Defender with the funny last name simply could have phoned this one in.
It wouldn’t have hurt his career any, in fact if he played ball it might have done him some good down the road.
While we have never met the man and he won’t speak to us on the phone, his actions are evidence that after years of defending the worst of the worst Mr. Odgers is still a believer in truth, justice and the American Way.
We write that without sarcasm and with the utmost respect.
The motion he filed last week is more than just paper work.
It is a shot across the bow of one of the most secretive and closed systems in the state and if Odgers allegations are true we ain’t talking about a can of worms but rather an entire bait shop’s inventory.
Odgers’ motion begs questions that we now ask.
How much did ESP staff know of the circumstances of the killing and when did they know it?
Were they aware that a hit had been put out on Mike “Big Time” Ofeldt before that fateful night in May 2011?
If they did were any steps taken to prevent it?
And why have four inmates from one of the most violent and vicious prison gangs been transferred from the living hell of the ‘Graveyard’ to the relative paradise of Lovelock Medium Security?
While it is easy to despair that our system of justice is broken beyond repair.
It isn’t.
As long as there are men like Charles Odgers it never will be.
They are the true gatekeepers against the forces of the banal tyranny of power and corruption.