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by Mel Griffith
If you wonder why criminals roam freely and your property is not safe if you take your eyes off it, you only have to consider how the District Attorney's office has bungled the George Poe incident. Mr. Poe is being prosecuted, or more correctly, persecuted, for being the victim of a crime.
Last summer, Mr. Poe noticed suspicious activity at his son's house next door. Mr. Poe, an upstanding citizen and city councilman, did what any responsible citizen would have done and went to investigate.
He discovered someone, who turned out to be a career criminal, already wanted in various other places, stealing his son's lawn mower. The thief reacted to his discovery by trying to run over Mr. Poe with his car. Mr. Poe defended himself with a weapon he was legally carrying, something he had every right to do. The thief suffered no ill effects except for later wrecking his car in his haste to skip town, something Mr. Poe had nothing to do with.
Guess who our illustrious DA, whose previous crowning achievement in keeping the public safe was to put a gentlemen on Million Road out of the business his family had operated for 25 years by misusing the zoning laws, charged with reckless endangerment? Not the career criminal who tried to run over Mr. Poe, but Mr. Poe for defending himself.
It is doubtful that the criminal was ever in danger since Mr. Poe did not shoot directly at him, but I am all in favor of criminals being an endangered species.
The Grand Jury has not yet heard Mr. Poe's case and hopefully will have the good sense to dismiss it. It is outrageous to prosecute citizens for protecting themselves. It should be noted that this problem was not caused by law enforcement officers. The criminal in this case was properly arrested and, according to reports, is still in jail because of previous problems with the law. Rather, this has been caused by irrational behavior of prosecutors who are supposed to protect us from criminals, not prosecute their victims.
So, criminals out there, you can continue your career in crime, safe in the knowledge that the DA's office can't tell the difference between a criminal and a crime victim. Of course, there is a possibility that some victims may have a more aggressive attitude than Mr. Poe and bring your career to an abrupt end.
Don't worry about it, you can die secure in the knowledge that whoever gave you what you had coming will be in a lot of trouble and the world will be better off without you, anyway.
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