The prosecution of those who knowingly break the law should never hinge on the fear of losing....or worse

Sebastian County is a place where hard-working people and dedicated law enforcement strive to keep our communities safe. Our local police, from Fort Smith to the smaller towns dotting the county, put their lives on the line daily to protect us. They respond to calls, investigate crimes, and make arrests, often under challenging and dangerous circumstances.

Their commitment deserves our praise and gratitude. Yet, despite their efforts, a troubling trend at the prosecutorial level threatens to unravel the progress they make--a reluctance to pursue cases that aren’t guaranteed victories, compounded in some instances by personal biases that have no place in the justice system.

This hesitation, particularly under Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Shue and exemplified by the tenure of former Fort Smith City Prosecutor Reba Watkins Howard, raises serious questions about whether justice is being served in Sebastian County.

Take the case of Reba Howard-Watkins, fired by the City of Fort Smith in 2024 after years of mounting frustration.

Howard-Watkins’ dismissal was cloaked in the vague language of “personnel matters,” but whispers in the community and among law enforcement paint a clearer picture: a prosecutor who too often picked and chose cases based not just on their odds of success, but on her personal friendships, relationships, and, undeniably, race.

It’s an open secret in Fort Smith that Howard-Watkins’ decisions sometimes seemed to favor suspects of her own race or those tied to her social circle, with leniency doled out in ways that defied the evidence. A soft plea deal for a friend’s relative here, a dropped charge for a connected acquaintance there—these patterns left police officers and victims feeling betrayed.

Yet, when the city finally cut ties, Howard-Watkins was quick to play the race card, crying foul over her firing as if her own biases hadn’t shaped her tenure. The hypocrisy stings: a prosecutor who let race influence her decisions cloaking herself in victimhood when held accountable. Our local police deserved better than someone who undermined their work with favoritism masked as discretion.

This brings us to Daniel Shue, the Sebastian County Prosecuting Attorney since 2009. Shue touts his 30-plus years of experience and over 100 jury trials, including capital murder cases, as proof of his competence.

But experience doesn’t always translate to courage. It's easy to bat .1000 when you only engage in Tee-ball.

Too often, Shue’s office appears to prioritize cases that promise easy wins over those that require tenacity, leaving tougher prosecutions to languish. This selective approach isn’t mere caution--it’s a failure of duty that borders on misconduct. When personal relationships influenced Howard’s decisions, it was a scandal; when a win-at-all-costs mentality drives Shue’s office, it’s a systemic flaw.

Both erode public trust.

Consider the broader stakes: across Arkansas, prosecutors shape community safety with every case they take--or don’t. When they dodge challenging prosecutions, whether out of fear of losing or, worse, favoritism, they leave criminals free and victims voiceless.

In Sebastian County, where drug crimes and violence test our neighborhoods on an increasingly alarming basis, we can’t tolerate a prosecutor’s office that ducks the hard fights. Our police pour hours into building case--only to see them fizzle because Shue’s team won’t roll the dice, or because Howard, in her day, let personal ties tip the scales.

Shue’s record isn’t spotless either. His 2022 decision to sidestep charges in the Confederate flag removal case in Fort Smith, citing a pending civil matter, felt like a dodge--was it principle, or just avoiding a messy fight?

And his office’s tepid response to certain drug cases, despite the opioid crisis tearing through our region, hints at the same playbook: if it’s not a sure thing, it’s not worth the effort.

Howard’s favoritism was blatant; Shue’s caution is subtler but no less damaging.

The firing of Reba Watkins Howard was a reckoning for Fort Smith, but it’s only half the battle. Sebastian County needs prosecutorial leadership that matches the resolve of our police--partners who fight as hard in court as officers do on the streets, unswayed by friendships or fear of failure.

Victims deserve advocates who prosecute based on evidence, not relationships. And our communities deserve a system that values justice over conviction stats or personal loyalties.

It’s time for Daniel Shue to lead with boldness or step aside. Hesitation and cronyism aren’t prudence--they’re betrayals of trust. It's been a good run , Danny. but maybe it's time for a new perspective.

Let’s honor our police by demanding prosecutors who chase every case worth pursuing, not just the safe bets or the ones that spare their buddies. Anything less is a failure we can’t abide.