[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 144 (Thursday, October 6, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 6, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     RECOGNITION FOR MITCH KEHETIAN

                                 ______


                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 5, 1994

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, on September 21, 1994 at the annual meeting 
of the Michigan State Bar, the membership chose to recognize the 
efforts of Mitch Kehetian to focus attention on the need for truth in 
sentencing and ending early parole of violent criminals.
  Mitch Kehetian has used his position as editorial page editor of The 
Macomb Daily to responsibly address serious problems facing Macomb 
County, the State of Michigan and the Nation as a whole.
  It is for this service to our community that the Michigan State Bar 
chose to bestow upon Mitch the 21st Annual Wade H. McCree, Jr. Award 
for the Advancement of Justice.
  I insert into the Congressional Record a story from the Macomb Daily 
detailing the award to Mitch and I join many people in congratulating 
him on his continuing achievement and well-deserved recognition.
  The article follows:

               Macomb Daily Editorial Page Editor Honored

       Mitch Kehetian, editorial page editor of The Macomb Daily, 
     will be recognized this week by the State Bar of Michigan as 
     one of the winners of the 21st Annual Wade H. McCree Jr. 
     Awards for the Advancement of Justice.
       Kehetian, a former president of both the Detroit Press Club 
     and the Society of Professional Journalists, Detroit Chapter, 
     will be honored for a series of columns that called for the 
     adoption of truth-in-sentencing guidelines in the criminal 
     justice system.
       Other print category winners include the Delta Reporter in 
     Escanaba, and the Detroit Free Press.
       Winning entries in the broadcast category include WKAR 
     Radio in East Lansing and WEYI-TV in Clio.
       The McCree Awards recognize Michigan's print and broadcast 
     professionals whose works have made outstanding contributions 
     to the advancement of justice by fostering greater public 
     understanding of our legal system, exposing abuses and 
     serving as a catalyst for change.
       Kehetian's winning entry was a series of columns examining 
     the need for truth in sentencing in Michigan and across the 
     nation.
       The series also called on the judiciary to enforce 
     mandatory sentencing to help stop the early parole of felons 
     convicted of violent crimes.
       The veteran editor's series cited examples of homicides 
     committed by felons who had been released on parole prior to 
     having served the minimum of their sentences.
       Thomas C. Oren, director of communication for the State 
     Bar, said Kehetian's award marks the ``first time editorials 
     or opinion pieces have been so recognized'' in the McCree 
     Awards competition.
       The winning print entry by the Delta Reporter, was a series 
     that examined divorce cases in Delta County, its Friend of 
     the Court and decisions reached by the Upper Peninsula court.
       Two Free Press articles were chosen. ``The Other Class of 
     '93'' pointed out that more young men in Detroit graduate 
     into the adult criminal justice system than receive diplomas 
     from the city's high schools, and the second winning entry 
     took an in-depth look at the staff and office of Oakland 
     County Prosecutor Richard Thompson.
       The order in which the winners were selected will be 
     announced Wednesday during a luncheon of the State Bar's 59th 
     annual meeting at the Cobo Conference/Exhibition Center in 
     Detroit.
       For the Daily, this is the third Wade McCree award in the 
     past five years.
       Reporters Chad Selweski and Frank DeFrank twice won state 
     honors for series on a Macomb County Jail furlough program 
     and then on the plea bargaining practices of the Macomb 
     County prosecutor's office.
       The McCree Awards honor the late Wade H. McCree, Jr., an 
     early supporter of the competition and a distinguished 
     lawyer, judge, law professor and solicitor general of the 
     United States.

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