Comment on Judge refuses to disqualify Goodwin from Freedom criminal case

By Ken Ward Jr. A federal judge has refused to disqualify U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin and his staff from prosecuting two former executives from Freedom Industries on criminal charges related to the January 2014 chemical spill and its aftermath.U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston ruled that Goodwin's office can continue handling criminal cases against former Freedom officials Gary Southern and Dennis Farrell.Southern and Farrell had repeatedly asked Johnston to disqualify local prosecutors, arguing that they have a conflict of interest because they and their families were among the 300,000 area residents whose water was contaminated by the Jan.