Spitzer’s Efforts Against Allaway Ruled Lawful

An Orange County supervisor did not violate any laws by utilizing his county Web site to oppose the release of a man hospitalized 25 years for killing seven people in a mass shooting at Cal State Fullerton, the state attorney general determined Wednesday.

In a letter to the attorney for mass killer Edward Charles Allaway, a supervising attorney general wrote that Supervisor Todd Spitzer’s efforts are legitimate because they educate the public about the government process and address “a legitimate public concern.”

Allaway was declared not guilty by reason of insanity for the 1976 shootings at the university library and has been hospitalized ever since. His lawyer, Deputy Public Defender John Bovee, is seeking Allaway’s release--with the support of some doctors at Patton State Hospital.

It was Bovee who first pointed at Spitzer’s involvement in the case, questioning whether a public Web site and county staff should be used to intervene in a criminal case.

Spitzer noted that as a supervisor whose district includes the Fullerton campus, he and his constituents have a viable concern about the case. Further, he told the attorney general’s office that he has not spent any public money in the campaign.