Posted on 02/21/2012 4:09:20 PM PST by Repeal The 17th
Even quick “dear Lord, help me with this” prayers count. A lot. The Holy Spirit is busy filling in the meaning with groanings that are deeper than any words the most eloquent sermonist could come up with.
In this case, even though the man technically violated a "reckless discharge" statute, the police should have just let it go, unless someone else in the neighborhood complained (a ricochet might have gone through someone's window, for example). A verbal warning would have sufficed. I really hope they drop the charges.
http://www.co.strafford.nh.us/amessagetovictims_attorneys.aspx
“If you are a victim of a crime, we want to be sure that you are not revictimized by the system. If you are a witness to a crime we want you to feel proud to have performed your civic duty and not feel as though you have wasted your time.”
Sincerely,
Tom Velardi
(DA of Strafford Co., NH)
Never.
A good friend of mine who lives in New Hampshire says that Southern NH has become Northern Massachusetts.
Carelessly-fired warning shots endanger innocent people, true. On the other hand, if the person would have been legally entitled to e.g. shoot a plastic soda bottle which was sitting at the spot on the ground where his bullet hit (which would have been permissible in many rural areas, but forbidden in many urban areas), the fact that the sight of him shooting that area of the ground might disturb a burglar should not change the legality of his doing so. Suppose, for whatever reason, the guy had a bullet-catching device on his porch (similar to the ones some gun repair shops use for functional testing when accuracy is not a concern) and had fired into that, such that he was basically using the gun as a noisemaker. Should that have been illegal?
Did he have one?
That's the only relevant question.
If you have any desire to weigh in on this with local authorities the first comment in this news article lists phone numbers.
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120222/NEWS03/702229948/-1/NEWS
The full version of that is the first quote on my FR profile page.
This chief of police and the local prosecutor need to be tarred and feathered by the local citizenry.
Isn’t New Hampshire the “Live Free or Die” State?
No tar and feathers, but ‘heat’ was applied from all across the country, and the county attorney has dropped the felony charge...
All too often DAs represent one of the weakest links and biggest threats to the USA criminal justice system because they make decisions not by testimony or law, but by whim, and by the seat of their pants.
A DA should be required to provide a detailed written brief and synopsis on their rationale for charges (or release) in view of the circumstances, evidence, and history of the defendant.
Their reasoning to put any defendant and the public through hell should be fully documented so that it can be either substantiated or discredited later. This BS of an elected public servant deciding only on whim the future of citizenry is nonsense. They need to fully justify it.
BTW just as important this should apply also to law enforcement facing or being released from charges too. They need to have detailed documentation on their decisions.
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