One cannot have ones' rights taken away. They are not issued to you by the state. They are God given. You can only give them away. Read your history. The founding fathers wrote the Constitution based on Christian faith and belief in these rights.
So who is to blame here? Is it the police? It has been known for centuries that it takes people of the highest integrity to not be corrupted by power. Ask yourself if you passively supported my struggle for your freedoms.
Did you send a $5.00 donation? Did you picket the courthouse?
Did you demand the resignation of District Attorney Gerard Downing and Assistant DA Kelly Mulcahy? Did you demand that the mayor immediately fire Detective Lesniak and open an investigation? Was your church group actively supporting my struggle?
Were you a newspaper, like the Greenfield Recorder, who refused to cover my story because it was a "gun case" and not politically correct? Did you call the state police internal affairs division and demand a real investigation instead of the mock one that was conducted? Did you demand that Supreme Court Justice Margaret Mitchell remove Alfred Barbalunga from the bench? Did you demand that Lt. Gary Lemay, who at that time was in charge of the Cheshire Barracks be fired? Will you now demand the firing of the present person in charge? Did you demand the firing of Major Charles Appleton, commander of Troop B in Northampton? Did you ever plead guilty to speeding when you weren't? Just because you believed it would save you from harrassment by the police? Did you ever give up your rights and plead to "sufficient facts" when you weren't guilty? Are you one of those people who volunteered to help me, then did nothing? Are you someone who has had their civil rights violated and did nothing about it? Are you now ready to come forward to the media and expose the crimes committed against you? Are you a woman who has been sexually harrassed or physically battered by a police officer and done nothing about it?
Did you call John Olver And Attorney General John Ashcroft and demand that the justice department open an immediate investigation? Did you ask the district attorney why she was cutting deals with the trucker? (Who has multiple alias and social security numbers in this state, obviously a man with something to hide.) Did you ask the district attorney why they prosecute cases with no merit when their job is to be the gatekeeper and protect the people of the Commonwealth? Did you remind the district attorney that he is elected to represent the people of the Commonwealth, not the police? Did you ask him how many of your dollars were wasted during the malicous prosecution of me?
Were you someone who stopped wearing his gun and thought if you kept your head down you would be safe? Are you a decent cop who wouldn't come forward out of fear of retaliation? Did you convince yourself something like this would never happen to you or your family? If any of these situations describe you then you have been part of the problem, not part of the solution. If you want to know who the enemy is, look in the mirror. It is us!
I am sure the good people will be proud to know I am being interviewed by a nationally known author. Berkshire County will soon have the dubious honor of being the place where she found the worst case of corruption and injustice in the nation. The first question people always ask is; aren't you afraid? Of course I was. Would you be afraid to go into a burning building to save your child? Would you go? Have you been blissfully unaware that the reason for the Holocaust was that the Jews gave up their guns? Are you going to wait until you or a loved one gets shot? Freedom isn't free. Which is next, freedom of religion?
There is a man from Agawam who is being persecuted in the Pittsfield court because he is a Christian. But the reporter who covers the Pittsfield court is a good little state citizen. Otherwise you would know about it. Thoses who don't know their history don't understand that the purpose of the second amendment is to guarantee the first and all the others.
Linda Hamilton
Heath, Ma