Tim Martin

[Note: Change.org provides a tool that allows petition starters and supporters to email decision makers directly from our platform. The message below is a response from Augusta County Commonwealth's Attorney Tim Martin, sent in reply to one of these emails from the petition starter.]


Ms. Keys,

Please feel free to share this email with whomever you choose.

Defendants and their families are often unhappy when they must (finally) face accountability for their actions. I understand Mr. Keys to be disappointed with the court’s decision in this matter. However, at no point did Holly Rasheed (there is a second L in the name ‘Holly’) lie or mislead the court. I was personally present for the hearing. Any suggestion that she did is, at best, a hallucination, but is more likely a disingenuous and deceitful attempt to change the outcome of this hearing. If Mr. Keys had some modification to his sentence in mind, that would make him no different than virtually every other defendant who gets a jail sentence. However, the absolute worst way to accomplish that goal would be to make entirely false accusations against one of my assistants.

There is no amount of community pressure that will make anyone in my office bend to the will of this, or any other, criminal defendant. That simply will not happen. It is our job to see to it that those with extensive criminal histories, who continue to break the law, face consequences for their choices. Such enforcement is absolutely crucial to the maintenance of an orderly society.

You have every right to petition me, even if the petition itself is misleading as hell, but trust me when I tell you it will be to no effect.

If you feel a responsibility to keep “supporters" informed as to the position of my office in this matter, it is this: Michael Keys was first charged with an adult criminal offense at the age of 18. He has faced several dozen criminal charges in Virginia over the years since. Additionally, he served a significant term of incarceration in the federal system for serious felonies. After that period of incarceration, Mr. Keys still did not learn his lesson as he has been convicted of multiple state felonies in addition to his federal ones, including the present charge. Though we advocated for a more significant prison term than the court imposed in the current case, we have accepted the court’s decision. His pathological inability to do the same will not change the outcome.

As I explained to Mr. Keys when he previously emailed about “Holy” and the injustice he perceives, he can have his attorney contact me at any time.

Tim Martin