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Something is rotten in the
state of England May 29, 2002 Tony Martin still sits in an English prison. But the farmer who killed a burglar and wounded a second at least has a
chance for parole later this year. In yet another bizarre twist to an already
bizarre story, the second burglar, Brendan Fearon (who was also shot but did not
die), has been consulted about conditions of Martin's eventual parole. You see,
Fearon is considered the "victim" in this case, and in England,
victims have a right to give their input when a convicted felon may be released.
It doesn't matter that Fearon had more than 30 arrests, including several for
crimes of violence. Nor does it matter that Fearon's own father has called for
Martin's release. The conviction and imprisonment of Martin is a stain on the once-great
British Empire. Now an equally disturbing case comes to light. Bill Clifford, 77, of Aldershot, Hampshire and a veteran of World War II,
hanged himself on May 3, 2001. It was the day he was to appear in court on
charges of "possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause
fear." According to his brother Raymond, the veteran had never been in
trouble with the law and was so ashamed of being arrested that he took his own
life. According to the Manchester Guardian, Clifford committed the heinous offense
of using a pellet gun to scare off a gang of teenage punks who were kicking in
his door and breaking a window in his home. Raymond Clifford stated that a long
history of harassment led to the incident. "The trouble he had from the
youths got worse in the last couple of months," Raymond Clifford said.
"They shouted outside and put eggs through his letterbox." His brother
called police several times to report the gang's criminal activities, but got no
satisfaction. Finally, when the thugs attempted to break into his home, Clfford
used the pellet gun to scare them away. Instead of detainIng the punks who were
threatening the homeowner, cops arrested Bill Clifford. It seems English Constables have trouble catching real criminals. But even
though an esimated three million guns may be in the hands of English criminals,
God forbid that any law-abiding citizen should keep a firearm for the defense of
his home. Just as despicable to English police are children who play with toy guns. A few months ago, Constables stormed through the door of a residence in Red
House, Sunderland and arrested an eleven-year-old boy who had just received a
pellet gun for his birthday. According to the Newscastle Journal, the lawmen,
accompanied by a riot van, interrupted a birthday party to make the arrest. The child, Roland Hopper, was spirited by cops to the local jailhouse and
interrogated for two hours. His mother, Andrea Davies, stated that the
Constables rushed into the house just as her son was about to cut his birthday
cake. "I was pretty shocked," she said. "We looked out the window
and they were swarming around like storm troopers in bulletproof vests...And on
top of everything else, they confiscated the gun. Roland was in tears." It was later determined that a neighbor had seen the boys playing with the
pellet gun and reported it to police. After being released, Roland said, "It was the worst birthday party I
ever had." And now, in maybe the most outrageous case of all, Ruby Barber, a grandmother
who had been repeatedly burglarized, decided to surround her house with barbed
wire to protect it from intruders. Her request was initially denied because it
"might hurt burglars." A storm of protest eventually caused the
Northampton Borough Council to relent. Barber, they said, could surround her
garden with razor wire. But there was a catch--she must take the precaution of
posting warning signs and "agree to take full responsibility if a would-be
intruder is injured." Am I missing something here? Sounds like the inmates are running the asylum. Robert Waters' second book on armed self defense in America is coming out
very soon. Visit his website for details: http://www.robertwaters.net.
Other articles from Mr. Waters can be found in his archives on our website by
going here: http://www.KeepAndBearArms.com/Waters. To read more about the anti-freedom stench coming from Britain, click
here. |
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