What's that stench in Draper? Could it be bull****? Chicken ****? Pig droppings?
It appears to be emanating from the trial of "Super Dell" Schanze on May 10 on the absurd charge of brandishing a firearm in a fight. This trial should grab the attention of anyone who firmly believes that the right to defend oneself from physical harm is a fundamental, inviolate human right.
This prosecution is so foul … where to begin? Let's start where the stink is strongest.
The prosecution does not dispute that three men in three vehicles pursued Schanze for allegedly speeding through their Draper neighborhood. They caught up with Schanze outside his vehicle, at the street’s dead-end, and “confronted†him. (Schanze’s 8-year-old daughter remained in the car.) One man picked up a rock, and threatened to smash the taillight of Schanze’s vehicle, with Schanze standing close at hand. At that point, Schanze produced a handgun.
Now, anyone who has been around law enforcement knows that the police will view this scenario pretty much as follows.
Of the three men who pursued Schanze, at least one had a cell phone. He had the opportunity to call police at anytime as he followed Schanze down the dead-end road, or when he stopped his vehicle, or anytime after he got out of his vehicle. Instead, none of the three attempted to phone police until after Schanze produced a weapon. In other words, they were perfectly content to enjoy their little stint at vigilantism, until things didn’t go quite their way! They had no intention of proceeding lawfully.
Now the police just plain always press charges against everyone they can in this type of situation. Why? Basically, these are a pack of lower primates, behaving like babies, creating police reports and a mountain of paperwork for the responding officers. None of these baboons did “the right thing.†And the POs are Pissed Off!!
Someone like Rock Head, the man who admits picking up a rock, will always be charged with something, it's that simple (at a minimum, disorderly conduct). And as often as not, Rock Head would be charged with felony aggravated assault, and be allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor.
In this case, none of the Three Stooges have been charged with anything. Although this defies logic, the explanation is uncomplicated. The Draper Police and prosecutors were so prejudiced against Schanze from the outset, they just could not perform their duties. They decided that charging any of the three vigilantes, with anything, could undermine their efforts to get Schanze. What’s worse, not pressing any charges against these three helps assure that they are indebted to the police. This bribe is an ironclad guarantee that the three will “color†their testimony at Schanze’s trial with utter disregard for fair play.
Why do many members of law enforcement throughout this valley hold such contempt for Schanze? Well, Schanze's alleged habitual bad driving isn't sufficient motivation for police and prosecutors to get so caught up in a vendetta. Rather, these rotten Apples hate Dell (sorry, I couldn't stop myself) as somone who stridently advocates for the right to keep firearms in self-defense. These are the dangerous thugs who would like to see themselves as the only persons in society with firearms.
They aren't exceedingly bad people. They are just average people who simply can't handle the amazing power of being peace officers and prosecutors. Nevertheless, this sort of putrid conduct by the “justice" system is just the sort of fuel firing a widespread breakdown of respect for law, order and the justice system in our nation. Nothing alienates more than hypocrisy.
Why was Schanze not guilty of unnecessarily threatening to use deadly force? In reality, if some guy picks up a rock in your direct presence and threatens to damage your car, he is demonstrating that he is ready and willing to get into a violent confrontation with you. He need not actually verbalize such a threat.
Standing alone, confronted with a healthy adult male wielding a rock a few feet or even yards away, any reasonable person must conclude that if they attempt to defend their property, they may be attacked with the rock. Rock Head should be charged with aggravated assault.
Here is my hope. Schanze’s jury will “just say no†to such obvious abuse of legal process by the prosecution. If not, let’s hope that a least one juror, even if she or he has to be a lone “holdout,†will have the courage to just tell these prosecutors to shove it!
Acquit Schanze of all charges, even the alleged speeding. It doesn't matter if he was going 60, or even 80 mph. This doesn’t excuse abuse of the legal process. Send a message! Don't tolerate a justice system that lets Sanderson and his two companions completely off the hook as a form of "bribery" to enlist them in this get-Schanze-at-all-costs vendetta.
Every human has the right to take whatever steps are necessary to defend themselves BEFORE they have been overwhelmed by an attacker. None of us has a crystal ball when we are confronted by aggression. We do not have a duty to wait until it is “too late†to get a weapon at hand.
What’s more, this whole idea that an aggressor has to be unmistakeably life-threatening before you're entitled to secure your own safety with a firearm is just dangerous, unreasonable bull****. For instance, the February 3, 2006, Salt Lake Tribune carried a story about a 22-year-old kid, Ryan Lawrence Evans, who punched his friend in the face "a few times," - the victim died.
This isn't one-in-a-million stuff. There was another incident, I'm thinking it was about 15 years ago, somewhere on 200 South at about 250 West in Salt Lake, where some kid delivered a single punch to another kid's head, the victim fell and hit his head on the pavement, and quickly died. I don't think it's unreasonable to speculate that someone dies from a beating by one or more "unarmed" assailants somewhere in this country virtually every day.
Good public policy has to consider some other factors -- some individuals are extra vulnerable to attack because of their physical infirmities. Schanze has asserted that he has a long history of significant back problems. Now, since he apparently regularly hang-glides, this suggests that his back may not be such a limiting factor. But for many individuals, their infirmities mean, without doubt, that even the slightest physical attack can have permanent or deadly consequences.
Furthermore, some individuals, men and women, experience severe anxiety or panic in the face of virtually any physical aggression. They are just chemically wired that way, like the small child that hides behind his mother's skirts. This shouldn't make them criminals. The aggressors are the criminals.
The bottom line: FREE SUPER DELL! PROSECUTE THE THREE STOOGES!
(I have absolutely no connection to Dell Schanze; I have never met him, never set foot in one of his businesses, I am not aware that we have any mutual associates. I did enjoy giving him a pointless rash of **** in another post here on this board a few hours ago. At least I think it was him.)
:twisted: :shock:
