Posted on 12/27/2004 4:01:52 PM PST by pabianice
One day in 1994, Doug Burns was leaving an appointment at Mass General Hospital when he was set upon by a thug standing over 6 feet tall and weighing more than 300 pounds.
The criminal first battered Burns and when Burns protested the assault the thug threw a weapon at Burns and then charged Burns.
Burns then drew his licensed handgun and shouted at the attacker to stop and then yelled at everyone nearby to call 911. Many calls were then received by 911, telling of the attack and how the victim was holding the criminal at gunpoint.
When the Mass State Police arrived, they arrested Doug Burns after taking the attacker into custody. Handcuffed and stuffed into a cruiser, Doug was never read his Miranda rights and never allowed to make a phone call. The police told Doug that in Massachusetts, no one has the right to use a gun in self defense unless they are police officers.
At a pre-trial hearing, not a single independent witness supported police charges against Doug. The 911 calls were never entered into the trial record. Not a single independent witness was called to testify.
Nonetheless, the jury voted not guilty on all charges except for one juror who stated that no one had the right to possess a gun. The judge refused to disqualify her and seat an alternate juror.
At the second trial, still with no independent witnesses allowed, Doug was found guilty of assault and battery, fined $19 and given 20 minutes probation. Because of the conviction, his LTC was revoked.
The 300 pound thug went on with his life unscathed. It turns out the guy is a Suffolk County (Boston) Deputy Sheriff who had been out for three years on a disability pension after being involved in a fight in prison.
In 2003 (nine years later), the Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled in Bruce Callender v. Suffolk County, 01-P-0983, that thug Callender had lied in his disability application and reversed Callender’s disability pension, ruling that Callender had lied about his injuries. The perjured disability was three years before Callender lied about his assault upon Burns. Yet, during Burns’ trial, Callender was “assisted” into the courtroom by State Police, spoke in a “shakey” voice, and gave the appearance of an elderly, crippled man. The Boston Herald printed a picture of Callender shaking the hand of Johnnie Cochran in 1996, in which Callender looks hale and hearty.
So, the morale of the story is that if you hold at bay with a handgun a perjured Massachusetts deputy sheriff who is trying to kill you, then you, not he, will be prosecuted.
Welcome to the Massachusetts “justice” system, where only some people have the right to defend themselves with a gun, and only some people have the right to be read their Miranda rights, and where not everyone gets to make a phone call after they’re arrested.
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Carolyn
I got put on probation for having a BB gun in the 70's then I left in 1980 after I joined the Marine Corps. I have seen the world for what it really is. Massachsetts is part of Canada, just a little less french....
LOL! I'll have to tell my brother that one!
Carolyn
Without more facts surrounding the police conduct, and what evidence was used in court, it is impossible to conduct a legal analysis of the situation. You are correct regarding Miranda. There is also a question of whether he unequivocally asked for an attorney. I would like to know more about this case. I would also like to know who his lawyer was during all this. It sure seems like he got the shaft.
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