Letters for lawyer facing sentencing call him ‘generous’
Childers is among those praising Langston’s generosity.
“No one in my forty nine years in Prentiss County has had greater impact on so many people that I personally know than Joey Langston,” Childers wrote. “He has been a friend to all and an enemy to none. His heart is bigger than our entire county. His generosity to the people of Prentiss County will probably never be exceeded in my lifetime; not only his generosity of his resources, but by his generous gift of love and kindness to all who were willing to accept it. He has been a friend to the poor just as the wealthy. He has treated everyone with the greatest respect. I can hardly believe this tragedy is happening to him and his family.
“I recall so many times that I (as chancery clerk) have called on him to help pay hospital bills, buy medicine, pay school expenses, furnish Christmas gifts to needy children, even to assist in burial expenses for people in our county. Most of the times he never knew the people he helped. Several years ago there was a certain death of a young child, which as you know is devastating enough to a family in itself. Joey, knowing the family was not prepared to bury this child, much less prepared to pay six thousand dollars for a funeral. He discreetly stepped in to the office of the local funeral home and left a personal check to cover the expense for the family. He asked the owner to please not tell the family he paid the bill. There was no lawsuit to follow or any other personal potential gain to Joey. He just knew that he couldn’t bring that child back, but he could help in that way. When I approached him and suspected that he had done this kind act, he asked me to not tell the family that he had taken care of this.
“This is not a man who has lost his way. He may have gotten sidetracked, but he hasn’t lost his way. I only wish that every town and county in America had someone like Joey Langston.”
Michael Ramey, captain of the Criminal Investigation Division for the Booneville Police Department and city marshal for the town of Marietta, said Langston has purchased bulletproof vests and drug dogs for both the city of Booneville and Prentiss County.
“I urge you to take into consideration all the support and good that Joey has done and continues to do for our community and country,” he wrote.
Tim Fortenberry, chief of Police Booneville Police Department, said Langston realizes he’s made a terrible mistake.
“From what I read in newspaper reports he had admitted his mistakes, accepted responsibility for his actions, and is cooperating with the investigation,” Fortenberry wrote. “He now has to accept the consequences for his actions. I also realize he has hurt a great number of people, including his own family, and a business in which he worked hard to become successful.
Clarion Ledger
12/10/8
Magnolia Tribune
