|
[Back to Interviews & Articles] LAW
& JUSTICE IN EVERYDAY LIFE [inserts are excerpts from Law & Justice In Everyday Life, ISBN 0-9626001-5-6] INTRODUCTION BY Prof. Janine Utell, Ph.D. –
I would like to welcome everyone to this semester’s Pew Memorial
Lecture. Thank you all for
coming. Today I am pleased to
introduce our speaker, Andy Thibault.
In today’s fraught political climate, in a time where fear can
sometimes dictate policy, the relationship between the media, law, and
justice has never been more complex, nor has it ever been more crucial to
understand and interrogate that relationship.
Andy Thibault has dedicated his professional life to asking:
Where is justice? Where
can we find it? How can we
protect it? As an
investigator into political corruption, he looks for justice, and as a
journalist he seeks to protect it. He
works to hold public servants accountable, watching to ensure they are
fulfilling the trust placed in them by the people.
He has written eloquently on the problems of power and corruption
in our society, and it is on this subject he will speak today.
Andy Thibault is the author of Law
and Justice in Everyday Life and a columnist for Law Tribune
newspapers. He teaches
journalism and communications at the University of Hartford, and is a
partner in the Murzin-Thibault Investigative Group, a firm specializing in
surveillance [criminal investigations, background information, civil
litigation and executive protection].
His talk this morning is entitled “Law and Justice in Everyday
Life.” Will you please join
me in welcoming Andy Thibault.
THANK YOU, JANINE
UTELL AND THE PEW COMMITTEE FOR YOUR WARM WELCOME AND GRACIOUS
HOSPITALITY. I WAS ABLE TO SETTLE IN LAST NIGHT WITH THE HELP OF JANINE
AND HER HUSBAND JOHN PAUL. I WAS ABLE TO WALK AROUND THE CAMPUS A BIT.
THAT CLEARED MY HEAD AFTER THE FINE DINNER THEY GAVE ME.
I’M VERY HAPPY TO BE WITH YOU HERE TODAY AT WIDENER UNIVERSITY.
THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR ME, TALKING WITH YOU ABOUT A SUBJECT THAT
IS DEAR TO MY HEART.
I’M VERY HAPPY TO TALK WITH YOU TODAY ABOUT JUSTICE.
I’M GOING TO ASK MYSELF, AND YOU, WHAT KIND OF LIVES WE WANT TO
LIVE.
LET’S CONFRONT A FEW QUESTIONS TOGETHER:
1. – WHAT IS JUSTICE?
IS JUSTICE THE CONFLUENCE OF ALL VIRTUE? IS IT SOMETHING THAT CAN
HAPPEN IN A FREE SOCIETY WHEN CITIZENS RISE UP AND TAKE A PIECE OF THE
ACTION FROM THE BUREAUCRATS?
CAN JUSTICE BE HANDED DOWN IN A COURT, IN A CLASSROOM IN THE
WORKPLACE OR ON THE STREET? IS JUSTICE MERELY THE WILL OF THE STRONGER? IS IT MERELY DOING GOOD TO YOUR FRIENDS AND HARM TO YOUR ENEMIES? IS JUSTICE SOMETHING THAT POPS OUT OF A TOASTER EVERYDAY WHEN THE JUDGE BANGS HER GAVEL?
IN MY EXPERIENCE, JUSTICE CAN BE ALL OF THESE THINGS.
COVERING COPS AND COURTS FOR 30 YEARS HAS GIVEN ME A POINT OF VIEW
ON THE ISSUE OF LAW AND JUSTICE IN EVERYDAY LIFE. TWO PEOPLE EXPRESS A
SHORT VERSION OF THIS VIEW BETTER THAN ME. ONE IS A GREEK PHILOSOPHER,
ANARCHARSIS. THE OTHER IS A BITTER COMEDIAN, LENNY BRUCE. “LAWS ARE LIKE SPIDER WEBS,” ANARCHARSIS SAID A FEW THOUSAND YEARS AGO. “THEY HOLD THE WEAK AND DELICATE WHO ARE CAUGHT IN THEIR MESHES, BUT ARE TORN TO PIECES BY THE RICH AND POWERFUL.” SOUNDS RIGHT TO ME. LENNY WAS MORE DIRECT. MAYBE HIS LIFE WAS MORE DIRECT. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON’T KNOW, LENNY BRUCE WAS ARRESTED AT LEAST SEVEN TIMES FOR WORD CRIMES, ALSO KNOW AS OBSCENITY. HIS ACT WAS A BIT MORE RAUNCHY THAN WHAT WE SEE ON COMEDY CENTRAL TODAY, BUT NOT BY THAT MUCH. HIS SAGA IS CHRONICLED IN THE BOOK, THE TRIALS OF LENNY BRUCE. I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE WITH A SLIGHT INTEREST IN THE FIRST AMENDMENT. IN ANY CASE, HERE’S HOW LENNY SIZED UP THE COURT SYSTEM. “IN THE HALLS OF JUSTICE,” LENNY SAID, “THE ONLY JUSTICE IS IN THE HALLS.” TODAY, IN MY HOME STATE OF CONNECTICUT, AND PERHAPS HERE IN PENNSYLVANIA AS WELL, I THINK LENNY AND ANARCHARSIS OFFER A VANTAGE POINT THAT WILL ENLIGHTEN US. MAYBE IT WILL EVEN GENERATE SOME ACTION. WHY DO I THINK THIS WAY? LET ME OFFER A FEW EXAMPLES. I’LL START WITH A SHORT NARRATIVE ABOUT LAWYER MISCONDUCT. Go to page 34, Are You Sure You Want Your File Back? Are You Sure You Want Your File Back? March 26, 2001 A lawyer in Massachusetts urinated on a client’s
divorce papers after she testified against him on charges he fondled her
21-year-old daughter. Immediately
after being acquitted, the lawyer returned the files, which were severely
stained. The lawyer told a disciplinary committee that space constraints forced him to keep the files beside the urinal in his office, and that they might have been splattered on once or twice. However, a Bar Association Committee, after sending the papers to the state police lab, declared the “linear patterns of the stains” resulted from a “direct hit.” He received a 30-day suspension in the Bay State. In Connecticut, would this lawyer:
(D) Or is the answer too close to call? The correct answer is (D). All too often in Connecticut, a tiny group of rogue lawyers gets away with wrecking clients’ lives or finances. This is not good business for anyone. Case neglect is the heart and soul of many complaints. Nothing erodes public confidence in the profession more than a lawyer who is incompetent or negligent ... THEN I GO ON TO CITE SOME OF THE HURDLES COMPLAINANTS FACE… [the situation is even worse for judges. In reality, no one holds them accountable.] PAUSE- I LIKE TO SAY I KNOW I’M DOING A GOOD JOB BECAUSE ALL THE JUDGES IN CONNECTICUT CANCELLED THEIR SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE PAPER I WRITE A WEEKLY COLUMN FOR, THE CONNECTICUT LAW TRIBUNE. IT COST MY BOSS ABOUT $16,000 A YEAR IN REVENUE, SO I’M GLAD HE HAS A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR. Go to page 23, All Rise For Judge Bobby Knight. ALL RISE FOR JUDGE BOBBY KNIGHT. THIS IS THE ONE THE JUDGE’S DIDN’T GO FOR. HAS ANYONE HERE EVER HEARD OF BOBBY KNIGHT? WHO IS HE? WELL, AT THE TIME I WROTE THIS, BOBBY KNIGHT WAS IN BETWEEN JOBS. I FELT SORRY FOR HIM AND WONDERED HOW HE MIGHT FIND WORK IN CONNECTICUT. HERE’S HOW… ALL THE JUDGES IN THIS COLUMN ARE REAL. I JUST GAVE THEM BETTER NAMES. -- All
Rise For Judge Bobby Knight Bobby Knight needed a job. Knight, recently ousted from his post as coach of the University of Indiana basketball team, wanted a spot where he might only have to murmur, “Show me some respect.” He had grown tired of throwing potted plants at framed pictures. He wanted a place where manners and civility really counted. Of course, if Knight wanted to enforce his own “zero-tolerance” policy, it would be good to have his own Praetorian Guard carry out the mission. Guy and gal weightlifters and maybe a few good old boys would be nice. That’s when Knight heard there were openings for Superior Court judges in Connecticut. He prepared carefully and sent his application to the Judicial Selection Commission. Here’s what happened. Patience was in order. It couldn't happen right away. Knight learned this after just a little bit of research. He found that in some states the voters elect judges, but in Connecticut, three or four votes make all the difference in the world. The votes that really count include the chairman of the Judicial Selection Commission, one or two political leaders who might or might not be on the commission, and the governor. Knight didn't want to serve 10 or 15 years in the Legislature making nice to other judges. None of his college roommates or home-town pals were among the real voters. So he visited a few judicial districts to discover the best route. First stop was chambers of a judge affectionately known as “Melon Head.” “They said I couldn’t make it 30 days on my own, but I showed ‘em,” Melon Head told Knight. “I called Lew Rome's office three times a week for three years begging to get a robe. Finally, Rome got sick of me, palmed me off on Tulisano, and here I am!” ROME, LEW ROME, IS A FORMER LEADER OF THE STATE SENATE AND A FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT. HE’S PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF AS MANY AS SEVERAL HUNDRED JUDGES. TULISANO IS A FORMER CO-CHAIR OF THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE. Knight learned that Melon Head had a pretty good situation. Most lawyers were afraid to try cases in front of Melon Head. Melon Head didn't want to try cases unless he absolutely had to. The settlement statistics for Melon Head's court were very impressive. “This is looking better all the time,” Knight thought. Next stop, the Public Defender's office. “I was almost indicted for disappearing with a state car,” Slick told Knight. “They say I can’t walk down the hall without bumping my head on the floor. Now I tell those other lawyers what it really means to administer justice.” Knight reflected before going on to his last stop. “This is just like coaching basketball in Indiana,” the coach thought. “If fear and greed rule the marketplace, the courthouse is just like the basketball court: fear and power are the two driving forces.” Maximum Bill’s chambers was the final destination before Operation Judge Knight got off the ground. “Even when I don’t know what I’m doing, which is a lot of the time, it’s not really a problem,” Maximum Bill told Knight. “I just ask the lawyers how to proceed, right in open court. If I get flustered, I just bang the gavel and yell 35 years. Doesn’t even matter what the crime is!” Turns out some of the powerhouse law firms were fans of Knight. They made the right phone calls and the right donations. Knight passed muster at Judicial Selection and sailed through confirmation. He became the latest gift to the judiciary from the The Big Guys. Once on the bench, Knight didn’t even have to
threaten to throw chairs. Once, however, a lawyer dared to object to a
ruling. “I don't care what the ruling of the Supreme Court is,” Knight
said, “this is my ruling. Objection overruled. And next time, call me
Mr. Judge Knight.” I REPEAT THE LINE, “I DON’T CARE WHAT THE RULING OF THE SUPREME COURT IS; THIS IS MY RULING.” A JUDGE WHO SAID SUCH A THING COULD BE SUMMARILY YANKED FROM THE BENCH. BUT, NOTHING HAPPENED TO A JUDGE WHO SAID EXACTLY THAT IN A CONTROVERSIAL MURDER CASE. PAUSE- EARLY MY CAREER I WAS PRIVILEGED TO SPEND A COUPLE YEARS WORKING ON AN INVESTIGATIVE PIECE, THE COVER-UP OF A HIT-AND-RUN DEATH INVOLVING A MAYOR, A JUDGE AND MANY OTHER POLITICAL PLAYERS. Go to page 3. Showalter Cover-up Is New London’s Shame. ABOUT 25 YEARS LATER, IN SEPTEMBER 2000, I LOOKED BACK ON THE CASE. Showalter Cover-Up Is New London's Shame New London, where I grew up and began working in the 1960s and ‘70s, was a dirty little city with character. It had a restaurant called the Hygienic that was everything but. There were at least a couple bars where the cops couldn't do anything, except maybe a little business. The top pimp in town never went to jail until he was about 60 and a certain court official retired. New London will always be the city that tried to cover up the Christmas Eve 1973 hit-and-run death of Kevin B. Showalter. It's been doing a pretty good job for nearly 27 years, but the onion is beginning to peel. The local daily newspaper admitted -- in its official history published this year -- that it did a shoddy job on the Showalter case. Specifically, The Day admitted its failure to explore the relationship between a former mayor and a top judge, and their influence on the course of the criminal investigation. That’s a beginning. Political and police corruption go back a couple generations in New London. By the 1970s, New London police were widely known to be involved in the selling of women, dope and refrigerators, among other things. A federal grand jury took note. But as with the Showalter case, there were these little problems with the evidence. A jewelry store owner and former city mayor multi-millionaire Harvey Mallove was the prime suspect in the hit-and-run death of Showalter, a student at Mitchell College. Showalter’s date that night, Christmas Eve 1973, said she saw nothing from her vantage point six feet away, sitting on a stone wall under a streetlight on a residential street as a young man changed the tire of her car. Harvey was everybody’s pal. He would take kids to the Super Bowl, then, down the road, get them jobs as cops. He was friends with bums in the street and bums in high political office. He was wired. The standing joke among reporters became: Harvey's a great guy to have a beer with, just don't change your tire if he's driving by. “I didn't kill the kid in any way, shape or form,” Harvey told me many times. I
DIDN’T KILL THE KID IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM. THAT ALWAYS STRUCK ME.
NOW, WHEN YOU BREAK A WINDOW AT YOUR MOTHER’S HOUSE, DO YOU SAY, HEY,
MA, I DIDN’T BREAK THAT WINDOW IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM. BUT, THAT’S
THE WAY HARVEY TALKED. As mayor, Harvey helped hire a few police chiefs. His best friend was the administrative judge for the county; that was the judge who controlled the early stages of the investigation, specifically a coroner’s inquest that never issued a finding. State police followed up a report that Mallove’s best friend, County Administrative Judge Angelo G. Santaniello, was with Mallove on Christmas Eve 1973. Santaniello reportedly was No. 11 on a guest list for a party at the home of his political mentor, the late state Sen. Peter Mariani. The Mariani party was one of two Mallove attended that night. Santaniello told reporters he never went out on Christmas Eve. HE EVEN CALLED THE PAPER TO SAY HE NEVER WENT OUT CHRISTMAS EVE. BUT, WE HAD NEVER ASKED HIM THAT QUESTION. Another state judge, Joseph F. Dannehy, conducted two
grand jury investigations. In 1978, Dannehy named Mallove as the probable
driver of the hit-run vehicle, but said evidence that might have ensured
conviction was either mishandled or destroyed. FOR EXAMPLE, AUTO BODY PUTTY FROM THE OFFENDING VEHICLE WAS GIVEN TO NEW LONDON COPS BY TOW TRUCK DRIVER MIKE BUSCETTO – AND NEVER SEEN AGAIN. A FEW YEARS AFTER THE FATAL HIT AND RUN, WHEN THE STATE POLICE GOT INVOLVED, THEY WENT TO THE OFFICE OF NEW LONDON DET. LT. K.T. BUCK AND ASKED FOR THE AUTO BODY PUTTY. SURE, BUCKO SAID, I’LL GET THAT RIGHT AWAY. HE WENT TO THE EVIDENCE FILE AND PRODUCED AN ENVELOPE. IT CONTAINED LINOLEUM FROM A BATHROOM.
DANNEHY STOPPED SHORT OF CALLING THIS CORRUPTION. NO ONE WAS EVER
BROUGHT TO JUSTICE. Mallove died a few years ago with this legacy. Others still have time to come clean and tell the truth about the cover-up… WHY WOULD ANYONE WRITE STORIES LIKE THIS? OR MAKE A CAREER OUT OF IT? I DO IT BECAUSE IT’S FUN. I LIKE TO THINK I GET BETTER AT IT AS TIME GOES ON. SOMETIMES IT CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
FOR INSPIRATION, I READ JIMMY BRESLIN, THE NEWSDAY COLUMNIST. I
ALSO READ OLD STORIES BY EDNA BUCHANAN, THE RENOWNED MIAMI COP REPORTER
AND NOVELIST. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON EDNA, SEE THE NEW YORKER PROFILE A
FEW YEARS AGO. I ALSO RECOMMEND HER NON-FICTION BOOK, THE CORPSE HAD A
FAMILIAR FACE. HERE’S WHAT EDNA HAS TO SAY ABOUT MOTIVATION: “In a world full of bureaucracy and red tape and social service agencies that do not respond, this
job can be a joy. A [story] can slash through red tape like a razor.
Sometimes it can help bring about justice in cases where it would never
triumph otherwise.”
HERE’S A CASE THAT’S LONG ON BUREAUCRACY AND POLITICS AND SHORT ON JUSTICE. SOMETIMES ALL YOU CAN DO IS PUT PEOPLE ON NOTICE THAT YOU’RE WATCHING.
I KNOW IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE. PEOPLE DON’T WANT THEIR OBITUARY TO
READ, suspect in hit-and-run cover-up, political stooge for spouse beater
or incompetent judge. Good reporting and provocative commentary can drive
the agenda. Or, at the very least, it can make our public servants look
over their shoulders. This is a good thing.
WITH THE COLUMN, DIAL 911 FOR HARASSMENT, MY GOAL WAS TO SHINE THE
LIGHT ON A COMMUNITY WHERE THE ESTRANGED WIFE OF A POLITICALLY-CONNECTED
FIREFIGHTER COULD NOT TRUST THE COPS TO PROTECT HER. Go to Dial 911 For Harassment, page 65. Dial 911 For Harassment? April 9, 2001 Police dispatch and protection can be a quirky enterprise in Middletown. Ask Carolyn Hunt. When she calls the cops for help, they are literally out to lunch. But when her politically-connected, estranged husband wants the cops to check on his dog, they show up at Carolyn Hunt’s home. Hello. Has anyone in Middletown ever heard of the Tracey Thurman case? Many of us recall that Thurman won a $2.6 million judgment when Torrington police failed to protect her. Supposedly this case changed the way Connecticut municipalities deal with domestic calls for help. “What is the deal with the dog?” Mrs. Hunt quotes an officer as saying when he knocked on her door a couple weeks ago. “He had never gone on a dog call before,” Mrs. Hunt said. “He had to call his supervisor to ask what to do.” Several times, Mrs. Hunt said, Middletown police have come to her home to check on the dog and her children. She said they have also called to check on a boat and a moving van parked next door. Her estranged husband, Timothy Hunt, has been making news for about 10 years. In 1992 Hunt was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, breach of peace and threatening. Police said he threatened to kill himself and Carolyn Hunt. He was then working as a dispatcher. Armed with a .22 caliber Marlin semi-automatic rifle, Hunt yelled at cops: "I got a gun pointed right at your head. I could blow it off anytime." Cops eventually tackled and disarmed him. On March 7 of this year, Carolyn Hunt said she called Middletown police for help regarding an “unwanted person at my house -- my ex-husband to be.” “He tried to assault me and my neighbor,” Mrs. Hunt said. “I know I said assault. I told them I needed an officer.” Dispatch supervisor James Millardo, a close friend of Timothy Hunt, admits the call was not dispatched for 26 minutes. He said an officer who might have responded was on a lunch break. He disputes the nature of the call, saying it was for “harassment past.” Carolyn Hunt's lawyer, Stephanie Weaver, is reviewing
the tape. Weaver said she is concerned that someone might have tampered
with it. I obtained a copy of the tape under the Freedom of
Information Act. Mrs. Hunt does report an “attempted assault.” The
quality of this particular audio varies dramatically: the dispatcher is
loud and clear saying he will send someone “shortly;” some of Mrs.
Hunt's words are very difficult to discern. She claims her estranged husband made a fist, took a swing at her and tried to grab her. Timothy Hunt, questioned about the alleged assault by The Law Tribune, said: “That was never relayed to the police department.” He went on to say he had not reviewed the tape, although he had been shown a letter from Weaver to Millardo requesting a copy of it. He noted that he had not been arrested for assault. Then he hung up the phone. Middletown Mayor Domenique Thornton reinstated Timothy
Hunt to active duty as a firefighter in 1998. Thornton made room for Hunt
-- her campaign coordinator in 1997 -- by forcing acting chief Terrence
O'Rourke to take disability leave. “I’m sure he [Timothy Hunt] is not getting special
treatment,” Thornton told The Law Tribune. “Everyone receives the same
level of service.” Dog owners throughout Middletown should rejoice.
Spouses who fear for their safety are another matter. “If I have an emergency, I don’t think they'll help me,” Carolyn Hunt said. “I can't trust them. My children’s lives and my life are in danger.” JUSTICE COSTS MONEY. WITHOUT A GOOD LAWYER, YOU’RE AT AN IMMENSE DISADVANTAGE. WITHOUT A GOOD LAWYER, YOU COULD DO TIME FOR A CRIME YOU HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH. TAKE THE CASE OF KENNETH MURVIN. There’s not much justice here, just a small measure of compensation from a town in denial. Go to Town Hides Cost of Civil Rights Violations, in file. Town Hides Cost Of
Civil Rights Violations Meet Officer Gross Negligence -- Detective William Jennings -- and his pal Officer Deliberate Indifference -- Detective Gerald Pinto -- of the Stratford police. Because of Jennings and Pinto, an innocent man spent six months in jail. What's going to happen to Jennings and Pinto? Nothing. Jennings' and Pinto's victim, Bridgeport native Kenneth Murvin, was working an 8-hour shift on Feb. 8, 1999 - in Florida. Murvin, a safety attendant for an emergency room at a mental health facility, had been living in Florida for two years. Jennings and Pinto knew this, even as the Connecticut Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force planned to extradite Murvin and charge him with a purse snatching that occurred in Stratford on Feb. 8, 1999. Jennings and Pinto did little or nothing to stop Murvin's illegitimate arrest and incarceration, even after their only witness against Murvin recanted. It took Milford police - who were investigating a similar purse snatching in cooperation with Stratford police around that time - about 20 minutes to verify Murvin's alibis. Still, Stratford detectives Jennings and Pinto failed to uphold the law. They failed to ensure that the prosecutor had this exculpatory information. As U.S. District Court Judge Alan Nevas put it in ruling this year that Jennnings, Pinto and the town were liable for civil rights violations: "There is no evidence that [Pinto] did anything to insure that the exculpatory information
was actually disclosed to the prosecuting attorney responsible for
Murvin's case or was included in Murvin's file." Nevas also cited
Pinto for his role in failing to alert the task force that probable cause
for an arrest no longer existed. And so, an innocent man's freedom was taken. "I lost a
grandmother sitting in jail," Murvin told me. "I lost my
property. I got bad credit. But things are coming together. When I came
back [to my old job] I had open arms from everyone. "Nobody is above the law," Murvin said. "Just because you are a police officer doesn't mean you can make things stick when they are not true." The citizens of
Stratford are paying a price for this police negligence. They just don't
know how much of a price - yet. The settlement of a civil suit against the
town was completed on July 24 of this year. I talked to Murvin and his NEW
lawyer, Burton Weinstein of Bridgeport, the following day. "The only term of the settlement I can reveal," Weinstein told me, "is that the town says it did nothing wrong. The fact that they say they did nothing wrong says a great deal about the town." I called town manager
Michael Feeney and town attorney Kevin Kelly, leaving messages requesting
public records, e.g., copies of any and all checks and authorizations, for
payment to Weinstein and Murvin. Kelly and a colleague produced a couple
documents after I followed up with a Freedom of Information Act request.
The town has made at least one payment of $150,000. Sources close to the
town say the total amount is $450,000. Town attorneys have a tendency to protect their clients from liability. This can get out of hand, as it did in the Murvin case. The town attorney has done his job to the extent that no one is responsible for anything - except the taxpayers who foot the bill for incompetence, negligence and malfeasance. As the town told Judge Nevas: "So far as the investigation of the Town Attorney's Office presently indicates, all individual defendants acted in good faith on the basis of training they received." WHAT IS TO BE DONE?
WELL, FOR ASPIRING JOURNALISTS, THERE CERTAINLY IS NO SHORTAGE OF
STORIES OUT THERE. IT’S ALMOST LIKE SHOOTING FISH IN A BARREL. WE ARE AFTER ALL, AS BEN FRANKLIN SAID, A COUNTRY WHERE THE PEOPLE RULE. IN OUR OWN WAY, EACH OF US CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, WHETHER IT’S BY CONFRONTING OFFICIALS, WRITING STORIES OR FINDING SOME OTHER WAY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS. LIBERATING THE PIECE OF GROUND WE STAND ON IS ONE SIMPLE WAY TO WORK FOR JUSTICE. BEYOND
THE CASES I HAVE REPORTED ON OVER THE YEARS, I CAN’T REALLY ANSWER THOSE
THREE QUESTIONS I ASKED AT THE BEGINNING: ·
1.
– WHAT IS JUSTICE? ·
2.
– IS THERE JUSTICE IN EVERYDAY LIFE? ·
3.
– HOW DO YOU GET JUSTICE? I DO KNOW, HOWEVER, THAT THESE ARE VERY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR ALL OF US TO KEEP ASKING. IF WE ASK THESE QUESTIONS SERIOUSLY, WE WILL IN THE PROCESS DO SOMETHING FOR JUSTICE. IN CLOSING, I WILL CITE A POET WHO DREAMED AND WORKED FOR A BETTER AMERICA, AND A FORMER SOLDIER WHO TOOK DIRECT ACTION TO FIGHT THE WAR MACHINE. LANGSTON HUGHES SPOKE UP FOR THE IMMIGRANT, THE WORKER, THE OPPRESSED: “I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek- and finding only the same old stupid plan of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.” “Oh, let America be America again – that land that has never been yet – and yet must be – the land where every man is free.” PHIL BERRIGAN WAS SOMEONE WHO STOOD UP FOR THESE IDEALS. I TRIED TO CONVEY SOME OF WHAT HE STOOD FOR IN JANUARY 2003, ABOUT A MONTH AFTER BERRIGAN DIED. Go to Under-Reported Resistance, Then and Now, in file. Under-Reported Resistance Then
And Now THANK YOU. |