news-record.com

Campaign mailers accusing state Rep. Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson, of being soft on murderers and rapists are outrageous.

State Republican Party chief Tom Fetzer says, oh, sorry, we didn't know Holliman's daughter was raped and murdered.

Really? I would think everyone who's lived in Holliman's district for a while knows.

I remember the 1985 crime very well, and a few years ago I wrote about how it shaped Holliman's views of crime and punishment.

He's not soft on murderers and rapists. He supports the death penalty. He watched the execution of his daughter's killer.

There's a human side to the story. Here's a key passage from my 2007 column:

"It's with you every minute of every day," he said. "All of my family has never gotten over it. Our daughter never had a chance to get married, to have children. We wonder about the what-ifs. What would she have done in life? We think they would have been good things."

Now Holliman and his family are having it thrown in their face because someone thinks it will give his election opponent an advantage to say Holliman is soft on crime, that he's OK with releasing murderers and rapists into "your neighborhood."

As if he wouldn't care if other families suffered as his has.

Is winning in politics so important that no attack is considered out of bounds? Is there no decency, no shame?

I hope the voters in Holliman's district won't accept offensive tactics like this.