The trial of a man who's accused of shooting and killing a state trooper during a traffic stop in Haywood County has been delayed so one of his attorneys can receive and recover from cancer treatments.
Just a refresher for those who may not remember: the victim, David Shawn Blanton, Jr., was a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. At the time he was callously gunned down, he had a prematurely born son in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Mission Hospital in Asheville, a son who later died. Because of this action, a grieving widow was forced to grieve the loss of her son without his father.
Edwardo Wong, who faces the death penalty, has an extensive criminal history, including some violent offenses back in Florida. Yet here he was that July night cavorting around western North Carolina. Wong's lawyers have attacked Blanton's character, even suggesting that his stopping Wong (it was a minor traffic infraction) was racially motivated. It was night, and I doubt Blanton could determine Wong's race while patrolling, even if it would have been a factor. It's not as though Blanton hasn't had to deal with racism himself through being Native American.
While I can't fault one of his attorneys for getting treated for cancer and I do wish him well, the Blanton family deserves justice, and I think it's sad that these kind of blame-the-victim tactics have been used. I have no sympathy for Wong, and should a jury conclude he's guilty, I certainly won't be shedding any tears the day he's strapped to a table and a needle is put in his arm.
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