WHY IS ACCOUNTABILITY SO ELUSIVE IN THE EDEN CASE?

No one can deny that three men were shot to death Jan. 3 during a Jerome
County sheriff's raid in Eden. And no one can deny that the state's
official inquiry failed to hold anyone accountable for those deaths.

No conclusions have been announced about why they died or who is to blame.
Nor are any in the works.

Because it was a sheriff's raid, the road to accountability leads straight
to Sheriff Jim Weaver. Weaver wasn't planning on a drug raid when he came
to work on Jan. 3; state police reports clearly show it was a
spur-of-the-moment undertaking. By the time the day was over, two of his
deputies and a Jerome County homeowner were dead.

What went wrong? Did Weaver act reasonably and prudently, or was he
negligent? The Idaho State Police report doesn't reach a conclusion.

Weaver's information came from Mary Ann Taylor, a woman living with suspect
Tim Williams. Though police and sheriff's deputies on the south side of the
Snake River knew her to be an unreliable informant, Taylor nevertheless was
the principal source of intelligence for the drug raid on Williams' house.

Williams -- who was virtually deaf -- started shooting when Weaver's
deputies kicked open an interior door in his home and confronted him with
weapons drawn.

Williams was armed, and he was jumpy, and he apparently had good reason to
be. He had brawled with Taylor's ex-boyfriend not long before and feared
another encounter.

It was a volatile mixture, yet Weaver chose to press ahead. And Williams, a
likable guy with a single-action six-shooter, killed two of Weaver's
deputies before dying himself.

The drug raid, by the way, yielded about $30 worth of marijuana.

Where was the big stash of drugs?

More importantly, where is the accountability for a sheriff's raid that
went so terribly wrong?

The man who decided not to pursue criminal prosecution is Weaver's
colleague in Jerome County government, Prosecutor John Nicholson. Though
Nicholson followed a recommendation from the state attorney general's
office, Idaho law gives local prosecutors almost absolute discretion in a
case like this. The wisdom of that law is something the Legislature might
want to reconsider.

Though accountability through conventional channels is proving elusive,
there are other avenues. At the very least, Jerome County Coroner Gerald
Ostler should conduct a coroner's inquest. Ostler says he wants to, but
adds that he needs Nicholson's support.

Even if he goes forward, it's worth remembering that Ostler also works
closely with the sheriff's office. So the impartiality of that
investigation also could be called into question.

What's left?

A civil suit by Williams' survivors is likely, and other civil suits could
be brought by survivors of the dead deputies. Those cases might go to
trial, but hush-hush settlements from the state insurance fund are the most
likely outcomes.

Money would change hands, but Idaho taxpayers would never know how much. No
one would talk about the settlements, no one would admit guilt, and no one
but a chosen few would ever know the details.

There's little accountability in that. So the final options involve the
"r-words" -- recall or resignation.

Voters can turn Weaver out of office in the next election, more than 3 1/2
years from now, or they can recall him from office. A recall effort already
is under way, but it's unclear if there is enough momentum to strip the
sheriff of his badge.

As an elected official, Weaver answers to no one except the voters. But the
ability of voters to make an informed decision is limited by Weaver's
reluctance to divulge information. As things stand, it's a stalemate -- and
he's still the sheriff.

We endorsed Jim Weaver in the last election because we thought he was the
best candidate for Jerome County sheriff. But his steadfast refusal to
speak candidly about the Eden tragedy has eroded public confidence in local
law enforcement.

Has he learned anything from this episode? Is he planning to make any
procedural changes? If so, he hasn't told the people who pay his salary.

Smug in the security of his office, Weaver hasn't taken responsibility for
the fact that three Jerome County residents died in a raid that he ordered
and led.

Those in official circles apparently have no problem with this lack of
accountability. If Jerome County residents want accountability, they will
have to generate it themselves with a recall petition.