Langston Sentencing (Part 2): US Attorney Tom Dawson
Asst US Attorney Tom Dawson:
We have filed a motion for a downward departure pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement. That motion is detailed and comprehensive. I would like to expand on two points if the court pleases. Late in December of 2007 the US attorney’s office was in the pretrial stages in what has become known as Scruggs I. the evidence in that case was extremely strong. But there’s no case in my experience that can’t be made stronger. Faced with the growing evidence… Langston made a decision to plead guilty and testify against the defendants in what will become known as Scruggs II. To say this added evidentiary weight to Scruggs I would be an understatement. It was the capstone of that case. One day Mr. Langston was part of the Scruggs defense team and the next day he was a convicted defendant and a witness against Scruggs. We believe that Mr. Langston’s decision to cooperate was a significant factor in Scruggs I.
NMC
12/16/8
Magnolia Tribune
