(Ad) Re-Elect Brian Wright Commonwealth's Attorney - Candidate Statement

2018-05-18 - Photo from Campaign.

To the voters of Adair and Casey Counties

My name is Brian Wright and I am running as a Republican candidate to retain my current position of Commonwealth's Attorney for Adair and Casey Counties. I have been married to my wife, Nikki, since December 1999, and we have two sons - Coleman (age 14) and Brady (age 11). My family attends Creston Missionary Baptist Church, where I have gone to church for practically my entire life. I graduated from Casey County High School in 1991; Centre College in 1995; and the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1998. Immediately following graduation from law school, I returned to Liberty and began practicing law as well as serving as an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney for the late Fred Capps. I continued to work for Fred Capps until he was murdered in June 2000. I spent several years as an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney, and I have served a total of approximately 12 years as the Commonwealth's Attorney for Adair and Casey Counties.

During my tenure as a felony prosecutor, I have prosecuted thousands of felony criminal cases and I have conducted well over one hundred felony jury trials. I have successfully prosecuted nearly every type of felony criminal case there is - including drug trafficking crimes, drug possession crimes, thefts, burglaries, DUI's, sexual offenses, assaults, and murder cases. I have successfully prosecuted multiple death penalty cases - which are by far the most complex cases that are dealt with in the criminal justice system. I have always strived to be an aggressive, fair, and ethical prosecutor and attorney.

As Commonwealth's Attorney I have made it a priority to seek lengthy incarceration for those who commit violent crimes such as homicides, assaults, and residential burglaries, as well as those who cannot comply with conditions of probation. As Commonwealth's Attorney I have also been aggressive and proactive in battling the drug problems in the community. I have been particularly aggressive in the prosecution of those individuals who choose to traffic in illegal drugs. I have had many jury trials which resulted in the convictions of drug traffickers; I have secured lengthy sentences for drug traffickers; and I have pursued the forfeiture of property and money from drug traffickers in Adair County and Casey County. Additionally, I helped to establish the drug court program in both Adair and Casey Counties several years ago, and I continue to serve as an active member of the drug court programs in both counties. Many crimes are the direct and/or indirect result of drug addiction. The drug court program gives individuals in the court system who have drug addictions an opportunity to overcome those addictions and to avoid significant jail time if they comply with the requirements of drug court, allowing them to become drug-free, productive members of our community.

My office has also always employed a victims' advocate, and this will continue to be a priority for my office. It is important that crime victims have a strong prosecutor to represent their interests in court, but it is also important for crime victims to have an understanding of the criminal justice process and to have meaningful input into the handling and resolution of cases that affect them. Additionally, my office has worked hard to increase our efforts to collect restitution that is due to crime victims and I will continue those efforts in the future.

I have tried to meet with as many people as possible over the past few months to discuss the office of Commonwealth's Attorney and to ask each person for their vote and support. Unfortunately, it is difficult to meet individually with every voter in our two-county circuit while maintaining a full-time prosecutor's job and balancing time with my family. However, I would like to respectfully ask each voter for their vote and support on May 22 to help keep me, Brian Wright, serving as Commonwealth's Attorney for Adair and Casey Counties.

Paid for by the candidate, Brian Wright