Editor,

I hope you will allow me to respond to the letter that was written by Major Richard Ojeda, especially since at least one third of his letter was a personal attack on me.

Although the Major stated that he didn’t want to make this, “an ugly battle of words”, that is exactly what he is attempting to do because he has raised a subject that he has very little knowledge about.

I have never, and will never question the Major’s patriotism, so please don’t try to turn this into something that it has never been. My response was clearly about a subject that you had raised about the crime rate in Logan County. This is not about my crime, nor is it about you either!

It is about a subject that has caused many deaths, not only in Logan County, but in the complete Appalachian States like Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Major, you are clearly wrong when you stated that, “drugs being sold and nothing ever gets done because there is supposed to be some magical wizard out there that is building cases against everyone and wants to wait until he has enough evidence to really bring, “The Smack Down”, when the time comes.” Major that is so far from the truth, you should be ashamed of yourself!

Not only the prosecutor in Logan County, but also state, and federal authorities have been very successful in sending many drug dealers to prison, and have always done everything in their power to keep drugs off the street, however the drug OxyContin is not an illegal drug, yet this drug has caused many deaths in again, not only Logan County, but in the whole Appalachian area, consisting of Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Just recently an eastern Kentucky county that has been plagued by widespread use of OxyContin reported they may sue the manufacturer of this powerful painkiller.

You apparently choose not to go to the root of the problem, but Major, I will, whether you like it or not!! The manufacturer of this drug is Purdue Pharma. The president, top lawyer, and the former chief medical officer entered into a plea agreement with Uncle Sam, and admitted to misleading the public about the drug’s risk of addiction. They also agreed to pay $ 634.5 million in fines for claiming the drug was less addictive and less subject to abuse than other pain medication. This plea agreement settled a national case, and came two days after the company agreed to pay $19.5 million to 26 states, and Washington, D.C., to settle complaints that the company encouraged physicians to over prescribe the drug.

I hope, not only you Major, but also the public in general, will pay close attention to what I am about to say. Purdue Pharma is a legal drug dealer. It’s top officers admitted they illegally mislead the public, encouraged physicians to over prescribe the drug that caused thousands to die, and what was the penalty? This drug dealer was allowed to take a portion of their drug profits, and give them to Uncle Sam, then continued to selling drugs. This legal drug dealer even gave this drug a name, “hillbilly heroin.”

You Major asked the question, “are there honor among thieves.” I will let you answer that question!

Allow me to tell you about another article that was carried by the Logan Banner, and not in the Letter to the Editor section that apparently you missed. The article was about a police officer from Mingo County, who was riding around Logan County and had a state trooper riding shotgun. According to the arresting officer, this police officer was intoxicated. He was at the MacDonald’s parking lot, where he had pulled a carload of teenagers off, and had them laying on the ground, with a gun pointed at them.

Another story was about a Logan Man who was claiming in his lawsuit that a state trooper beat him during a traffic stop, leaving him with a broken nose, and fractured skull. You see Major, I not only read other parts of the Logan Banner, I also read other newspapers. How about you?

Major, the positive side about our exchange of opinions is that you have changed your position about prisons, and hopefully have given up your first suggestion, which was allowing the police to declare war on our friends, families, and neighbors who live in Logan County.

As far as your statement about the price at the pumps, and me not having to ration anything to help the “war effort. Please! I never mentioned anything about gas prices at the pump, although I would guess that there are many people who will tell you their opinion about the high gas prices. What does this have to do with the subject that you raised?

As far as the crime that I stand convicted of, I will tell you the same thing I told Uncle Sam on October 17, 2002. “Not Guilty”!

Now in regard to all the trash talking you did about Tom Esposito, that is between you and him, however I will say this. During my 10 years on the bench, I saw where Tom kept some innocent people out of jail, and couldn’t help others that were guilty.

In closing I want to say that people are not leaving Logan County, and never returning because of crime and drugs. As a matter of fact, if you would check the data that is at the end of your fingertips, you will find that the crime rate in not only Logan County, but the complete state of West Virginia, is rated among the lowest in the nation.

People are leaving Logan County, and choosing not to return for the same reasons they did when I was a child growing up. There are no employment opportunities except coal mining, and it has never been reliable.

There is one area that Major that you and I have in common, and that is that I wished I had been a better husband and father too, however if I ever get out of this prison, I intend on being the best Papa in Logan County!

At ease Major!

Danny Wells

Morgantown