Channel 11 looks into accuracy of political ad targeting Kevin Dougherty

PITTSBURGH — It’s that time of the year again when political ads pop up all over the place with some attacking candidates’ opponents. But how many of those advertisements are factually correct?

Channel 11's Aaron Martin took a closer look at one in particular that focuses on Pennsylvania Supreme Court candidate Kevin Dougherty.

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"When Philadelphia Judge Kevin Dougherty failed to protect a child, tragedy happened,” the narrator in the ad says.

The 2002 custody case at the center of the ad took on a whole new meaning four years ago in Philadelphia.

"Dougherty shockingly allowed a young girl to be placed in the custody of a convicted murder,” the narrator goes on to say.

While that statement may be true, it is misleading.

In 2002, Dougherty placed then10-year-old Beatrice Weston in the custody of her aunt, Linda Weston, at the recommendation of the girl’s mother, attorney and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.

Court documents show that Linda Weston had previously served eight years in prison for starving her sister’s boyfriend to death in the early 1980s.

A spokesman for Dougherty told Channel 11 News that Dougherty had no knowledge of Linda Weston’s criminal history at the time -- a claim that is backed up by a The Associated Press investigation into court records.

"The heartbreaking outcome? Years of beatings, starvation and weeks on end of confinement,” the narrator in the attack ad says.

Nine years later, it was discovered that Linda Weston enslaved and tortured four people with mental disabilities, including her niece, in her home.

"The word horrific is not sufficient,” Philadelphia Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey says in the attack ad.

This clip is also misleading, according to Ramsey himself.

The Dougherty campaign provided Channel 11 News with a letter from Ramsey to the group running the ad in which he stated that the soundbite is out of context and is not a criticism of Dougherty.

University of Pittsburgh political science professor Kristin Kanthak said this kind of negative advertising can stay with voters, especially when they know little about the candidates.

"They have information in them. The quality of that information is in question. It could be good or not good, but it's a way for voters to get information,” Kanthak said.

Members of Dougherty’s campaign said their lawyers are working to get the advertisement pulled due to its inaccuracies. However, it’s unclear whether it will happen or make a difference with the election taking place on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for Republican State Leadership Committee, the group that ran the ad, issued the following statemtn to Channel 11 News:

"While ignorance is no excuse, in this case it is not even accurate. Judge Dougherty was presented with Linda Weston's criminal record as a convicted murderer in 2003 by the victim in question's family, yet he still failed to take the girl out of a dangerous environment that would become an unspeakable nightmare for her. Enough with the excuses. Voters need to know about Judge Dougherty's deflecting the blame and denying the facts in a horrendous case over which he presided."

WPXI