Monitor: Ayotte's Use of Briggs in Ad "Sad and Wrong"

by: Dean Barker

Fri Aug 06, 2010 at 16:22:06 PM EDT

The killing of a police officer, and the imposition of the death penalty, are solemn issues; whether it's appropriate to try to derive political advantage from such a case is a question each of us can answer for ourselves.

Former attorney general Kelly Ayotte's televised campaign ads touting her success in prosecuting Michael Addison for the murder of Manchester police officer Michael Briggs are effective and accurate, but they use the grief of the victim's relatives for political purposes. That's both sad and wrong.

...Ayotte's recent ads are, at best, in poor taste. They say, in effect, "Vote for me because I successfully convinced the state to put a human being to death." Using Briggs's death to help elect a politician does not honor his sacrifice.