This may have escaped the notice of a lot of people, but I think its something that should be looked into, as its a scary indication of the man who supposedly doles out justice in this town.
Judge William Harnett recently said, from the bench, in open court, I might add, that people who suffer from Aids and are HIV positive all got this illness as a result of smoking cannabis.
There are so many things wrong with that statement, I just dont know where to begin. The following week, an open letter was sent to the News and Star, requesting from the judge, where he got this little titbit, to validate it, and if, as any sane person can see, he is wrong, to apologise to all the people out there who suffer from either disease. So far, no response (although if anyone is aware of a response from the "honourable gentleman", please feel free to correct me).
I think this is a disgraceful indication of a man who is in a position of authority like that. It also shows such a closed mind about so many issues, is this man worthy to serve this community? How can he make rational decisions of judgement, if he cannot make rational statements about issues that affect a lot of people, and insults so many people!
Also, by not replying to the open letter (from a counciller in Tramore, if memory serves me correctly), it also highlights the ignorance of the statement. He knows its wrong, and at least if he acknowleges it, maybe we can regain some respect for the man.
for one, would not like to be going up against a person who seems to use the bench for personal soundbites to be entered into the paper (see any court news page in any edition of the local papers), as opposed to doling out justice to people.
Should he be taken to task about this statement, or shall we continue to sit back and wait till he comes up with more of these "classics"?
I would be interested to hear what people who read this think about the statement he made, and whether we should be worried about having someone with this mentality serving on the bench.
Note: If you wrote this can you please send me a mail, thanks.
The Mad Blaa.
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