Your Opinion: April 27, 2011

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April 28, 2011

Your Opinion: April 27, 2011

The Cooperstown Crier Thu Apr 28, 2011, 04:22 PM EDT

There were two young men

Save Anthony. The signs are popping up all over. I’ve been trying to figure out why they make me a little uneasy.

I remember that there were two young men involved in this incident. Why are we (at least on the surface) only concerned with saving one of them? Don’t you think they both would have psychological trauma after an event like this? Aren’t we a tight knit, supportive community for all the children?

How about some signs saying, “Let’s Save Them Both”?

Donna Bailey-Mackie

Cooperstown

When do we take responsibility?

First, let me say that as a parent and a grandparent there is nothing that I wouldn’t do for my children or my grandchildren. I believe any parent and grandparent would say the same thing.

But with that said, I question all of the people who have placed “Save Anthony” signs on their property. Do you really support the ideathat Anthony should not do any jail time? By placing a sign in your yard you are stating just that. If Anthony had shot your child or grandchild would you be so willing to ask for the district attorney to let him go. To let him just get counseling.

Counseling that could last two months, six months or maybe two years. Be honest with yourself. I know I couldn’t.

Mr. Pacherille would have you believe his son is the victim here. What about everyone else involved?

How do you think young Mr. Lippitt feels everytime he passes a Save Anthony sign?

How about his parents? How about Officer James Cox? Do you think he has possibly had some sleepless nights thinking about what did happen, and what he may have had to do if things had played out differently?

What about the other kids that were in the park and witnessed this whole event? What about the EMS responders who never signed up to go to shootings in our streets? What about the public that has fallen victim to this whole scenario? This was not a prank where Anthony was being mischievous; he shot at another human being.

On the website set up by Mr. Pacherille, he descibes a through and through gunshot wound to the arm, as a scratch.

I realize he is going to slant the information he puts out on his website, but to what extent. He also talks about the bail hearings being canceled.

I know we cannot always believe what we read in the paper, but I thought I read that the defense had canceled two of these bail hearings.

Mr. Pacherille is just trying to taint the jury pool for the upcoming trial with these signs.

Let’s look at some of the facts. Anthony was 16, not 5, not 10. Anthony went and got a gun. Anthony then loaded this gun. Anthony then took this loaded gun and placed it into a vehicle. Anthony then illegally drove this vehicle.

Anthony then jumped out of this vehicle and chased another young man with this loaded gun. Anthony cornered this young man in the entrance to the police station,and then shot him. He did not only shoot once, he pulled the trigger a second time. If it had not been for Officer Cox telling Anthony to drop his gun, he mayhave continued to shoot young Mr. Lippitt, until Anthony finished what he started out to do.

If the outcome had been different and God forbid he had killed young Mr. Lippitt, another child in the park, any other bystander, or Officer Cox; would we still see all of these signs littering the side of the roadways?

What if it was not Good Friday, and school had been open, could we have had more casualties?

When do we take responsibility for our actions? When are we accountable? How much time should this young man serve? I don’t know. But I do not believe he should get off with a slap on the wrist.

This crime could have turned out much worse. Do we remember, “And justice for all”?

James Tallman

Cooperstown