That is the State Motto that New Hampshire is now considering.
New Hampshire's current motto is "Live Free or Die," but it isn't holding up. Chosen as the State Motto in 1945 (possibly based on the fact that the United States had just finished leading the world towards freedom), it comes from Revolutionary War General John Stark, who was one of the last living Generals of the war. Stark was invited to attend a commemoration, but due to his age he could not travel, so he replied in writing, closing with "Live Free or Die: Death is not the worst of evils."
"The single grandfather had returned home to find that his home had been burglarized and spotted Joseph Hebert, 27, climbing out of a window at a neighbor's home. Fleming said he yelled "Freeze!" before firing his gun into the ground, then held Hebert at gunpoint until police arrived. "I didn't think I could handle this guy physically, so I fired into the ground."
No one was injured in the incident, but when the police arrived, they made two arrests. Hebert was charged with two counts of burglary and drug possession. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. Fleming, meanwhile, is scheduled to be arraigned March 20 on a charge of reckless conduct, which could potentially land him a sentence similar to the one Hebert faces."
General Stark is buried at State Park in Manchester, New Hampshire, passers by recently reported hearing what they thought was thunder on a cloudless day. It may have been Stark rolling over in his grave...
6 comments:
I guarantee it was Stark rolling over in his grave. And to think these people play an important part in picking who runs for President. Everyone needs to rethink this.
Good grief! Are we supposed to standby and just be spectators letting druggies, burglars,etc. get on with their business? I realize this was not a case of self defence as it was his neighbor's house, and he did have the presence of mind to shot into the ground. Would Fleming have been charged with assault/murder if he had shot Herbert?
I recall an incident in the late 1970's where a police sergeant shot a deaf mute burglar in the back on Christmas Day for being a fleeing felon and not stopping when he was ordered to.
Nothing happened and it became a sort of locker room joke. Today, the guy would have been drawn and quartered.
It SHOULD be risky to be a felon. Sadly, the law doesn't follow that logic.
Officer Nomind: OK sir, exactly what happened here?
Fleming (or harmless old guy with a gun): Well, ya see, I came home from Fitness For Old Farts to realize my house had been burglarized by the young man you just arrested. I see him jump outa that there window and I decide to pull my gun harmless-like and put a slug in the ground to stop this guy. Pretty smart o' me huh Offic- huh? What the hey?
(Fleming is suddenly on the ground with 'cuffs on)
Officer Alsonomind: Hey! Buddy, get on top of him! He's outa control!
Fleming: Hey, I think you broke my hip!
Officer Nomind: Uh-oh, I think he's summoning reinforcements!
Officer Alsonomind: Hurry get him in the car!
(Fleming [remember the harmless old guy with a gun] is shoved into the car along with Herbert and they drive off to the County Jail)
I was "involved" in an incident where a citizen observed a vehicle being stolen from a gas station. The citizen pursued the stolen vehicle and cornered it in a cul-de-sac. The citizen exited his vehicle and drew his weapon - the thief drove around the citizen and into a front yard - the citizen then fired into the front tire, which disabled the vehicle, and led to the bad guys capture. Some of the responding officers wanted to charge the citizen with "negligent discharge." I say he exercised due care (by aiming for the tire -which, by the way, is NOT allowed in most, if not all, police policies), hit what he was aiming for, nobody was hurt, and the bad guy went to jail.
It sounds like a case of "responsible discharge of a firearm"...
Thank you for seeing that a good deed was not punished.
Post a Comment