Posted on 10/27/2016 5:40:23 AM PDT by TigerClaws
On Nov. 1, 2006, I found my wife, Adrienne Shelly, dead in her West Village office. Adrienne, an actor and filmmaker, had been brutally murdered by a 19-year-old undocumented Ecuadorean construction worker; he later said they were having an argument and, fearing she would report him and have him deported, he killed her and staged her death so it would appear to be a suicide. Our daughter was just 2 years old at the time.
Given the anger and grief I still feel, I could easily be seduced by Donald J. Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric that is the cornerstone of his presidential run. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists,” he said as he began his campaign in 2015. And in these final weeks before the election, rather than tacking to the middle, he seems to be doubling down. “We’ve got some bad hombres,” he said in last week’s debate, referring to immigrants who commit crimes. And it’s not just Mr. Trump. In the years since Adrienne’s murder I’ve received several offers from prominent members of the conservative media, including Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly and Megyn Kelly, to speak out on this issue and give legitimacy to right-wing anti-immigrant sentiment. Who better than a Democrat to attack an entire segment of our population, right? But Adrienne was not murdered by an illegal immigrant, per se. She fell victim to a depraved killer who simply happened to be an undocumented immigrant. It is an obvious distinction, almost too obvious, but it’s an important one to consider as the country goes further down the dangerous path of demonizing those not born here.
At his rallies and during the debates, Mr. Trump has painted a dark picture of an America overrun by foreign criminals who come here to rape, pillage and murder our innocent civilians. He opposes any form of amnesty for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, taking a hard-line law-and-order stand that has brought millions of voters to his camp. He uses murders like Adrienne’s — though never hers specifically, fortunately — as political props. His “solution” includes a deportation force that would separate people from their families and “send them back to wherever they came from.”
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Adrienne’s killer, Diego Pillco, plea-bargained a murder conviction that sentenced him to 25 years with no parole and no ability to appeal. It was a tough case. He had no clear motive, and there were no witnesses to the crime. The district attorney’s office advised me to accept the deal rather than go to trial. It was an agonizing decision: roll the dice for a life sentence or possibly end up with a manslaughter conviction, with her killer receiving a meager three to five years in prison. We took the deal. It was, simply, a business decision, albeit one with a hefty emotional price tag. Her killer will be deported upon his release, walking this earth a free man at 44 years old, while Adrienne’s vibrant life was snuffed out at 40.
His reason for killing Adrienne, and the relatively lenient sentence he received, certainly feeds Mr. Trump’s xenophobic, fear-mongering narrative. But beyond the rhetoric, there’s no clear cause and effect. His rationale was no different from that of an American citizen who in the act of a crime kills his “witness” to avoid prosecution and imprisonment. Attributing his heinous act to his immigration status dilutes the more relevant truth that he lacked the ability to know right from wrong and had zero respect for human life. Yes, we have an immigration problem that is in desperate need of reform. Yes, some illegal immigrants commit crimes, some of them violent. But so do blacks, whites, Asians, Christians and Jews. Mr. Trump often claims that two million undocumented immigrants have been convicted of crimes, but in fact the figure is actually 176,000, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The reality is, Americans have appreciably more to fear from their fellow citizens than from undocumented immigrants. It’s politically expedient for xenophobic agitators like Mr. Trump to scapegoat the millions of foreigners who have come to the United States in search of a better life. But his malevolence toward immigrants runs counter to the principles on which our great nation was founded. It’s disheartening to see so many people being swept out to sea in a riptide of ignorance and hate.
America was created by, is governed by and — with the exception of Native Americans — is inhabited by immigrants and their descendants, generations of whom came here to escape religious and ethnic persecution. That millions of people face a similar fate on our soil is deplorable. We should be thanking them, as America’s greatness is attributed to their blood, sweat, vision, perseverance, dedication and brilliance. While I believe that the country must do more to secure its borders, deport noncitizen criminals and protect Americans from foreign terrorists, I also believe we must find a realistic, humane path to citizenship for the millions of decent, hard-working immigrants who love this country as much as I do, regardless of whether they are documented or not. We need the kind of compassionate reform that Democrats have been advocating for decades in the face of persistent Republican obstructionism. That is what Adrienne would want.
‘Liberalism is a mental disease.’
One of the sicker elements of ‘liberalism’ is the a entire industry, in conjunction with an entire political party, fronting as news is willing to exploit a mentally imbalanced person’s rants and promote it as worthy for mass consumption..as if it reveals some greater truth we should know...when it reality its sole purpose to make Trump appear as evil as killary klux klinton who laughed because she got a rapist off and made a joke? about a death she was, in part, responsible for.
Sick and evil.
You can put lipstick on a turd, but it’s still a turd.
That Law and Order ran yesterday on the ION network channel.
What an idiot. He should have been killed instead of his wife.
Maybe that is what his wife wanted. I knew a woman who was pregnant when two thugs abducted her and her husband and robbed them at gunpoint in an alley. She could not utter an unkind word for her attackers. She was the type who couldn’t have dolls when she was little because they “stereotyped” female roles.
And believe me neither she or her husband would ever think of defending themselves and gunning those dogs down. They are the sheep.
Why was she having an argument with the guy who killed her? He was a construction worker, so does that mean he was performing work for her? Why would she report his immigration status? Did she know he was illegal? Aren’t there a lot of unanswered questions here?
I’m guessing his dead wife disagrees.
Minute of fame, justification of political rant, call for self centered pity — all on the back of his wife’s murder.
How little does this guys life hold?
And if the Border was Secure and our immigration policy was hard at work that murderous illegal immigrant would not have been in the room with your wife when she was murdered and your wife would probably still be walking around taking care of her daughter.
Think of this like the searchlight Commission Gordon used to alert Batman. This is a Virtue Signal flashed to the heavens, to tell us deplorables that this noble, selfless husband of a martyred bride is far, far better than us. We should be ashamed of our bigotry and small-mindedness and strive in earnest to be more like him.
God forgives. I don’t.
If a poisonous snake was in your garden, and then bit and killed your daughter (or wife or loved one), would you capture it and put it in a cage and feed it?
Would you kiss it and tell it everything is ok?
Would you scatter things around your yard to attract more poisonous snakes?
A reasonable man would kill the snake and take actions to prevent any other snake from getting in the garden.
Our country is under the influence and control of those who have abandoned reason because they are paid by those who seek to destroy America. This lack of reason has infected so many through abuse by the press and abuse by our educational system. And unfortunately, this sad man is so misinformed, so infected by lack of reason, he cannot see the truth. I pray for the soul of his wife, his family, and his own lost soul.
May we find a peaceful way out of this infectious insanity that has plagued our nation. The zombie apocalypse is happening now.
but in fact the figure is actually 176,000, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement told FoxNews.com that comprehensive statistics on illegal immigrant crime are not available from the federal government, and suggested contacting county, state and federal jail and prison systems individually to compose a tally, a process that would encompass thousands of local departments.
FoxNews.com did review reports from immigration reform groups and various government agencies, including the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Sentencing Commission, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Government Accountability Office, the Bureau of Justice Statistics and several state and county correctional departments. Statistics show the estimated 11.7 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. account for 13.6 percent of all offenders sentenced for crimes committed in the U.S. Twelve percent of murder sentences, 20 percent of kidnapping sentences and 16 percent of drug trafficking sentences are meted out to illegal immigrants.
There are approximately 2.1 million legal or illegal immigrants with criminal convictions living free or behind bars in the U.S., according to ICE's Secure Communities office. Each year, about 900,000 legal and illegal immigrants are arrested, and 700,000 are released from jail, prison, or probation. ICE estimates that there are more than 1.2 million criminal aliens at large in the U.S.
Typical Liberal, massaging the truth to bend it for their benefit...
Turns out this Cuck did sue the contractor over his wife’s death:
From wikipedia about the murder:
Shelly’s husband sued contractor Bradford General Contractors, which had hired Pillco. The complaint alleged that Shelly would still be alive if the contracting firm had not hired him. Ostroy also sought to hold the owners and management of the building liable for Shelly’s murder.
According to a New York Post article, among other allegations, the complaint stated that “’Pillco was an undocumented immigrant...’ as were his co-workers, and that “it was in Bradford General Contractors’ interest not to have ‘police and immigration officials [called] to the job site’ because that would have ground their work to a halt”.
On July 7, 2011, the lawsuit was dismissed by Judge Louis York. The court determined that Ostroy had not established legal grounds to hold the contractor liable, writing “While this court sympathizes with [Ostroy’s] loss, plaintiffs have not presented sufficient legal grounds upon which to hold Bradford ... liable for Pillco’s vicious crime”,and that there was likewise insufficient evidence presented to find that either the building’s management agents or its owners “had reason to believe that Pillco was a dangerous person who should not have been allowed to work at the premises” in order to find them vicariously liable.
Ostroy was said to be considering an appeal
I can trace my family back to William Bradford. So, I’ll just go ahead and say I’m as native American as I can possibly be.
(Even have some Indian blood somewhere back in the tree).
This guy is an idiot, and while his wife did not deserve to be murdered, the criminal alien certainly deserves death for his crimes.
Liberalism IS a mental disease. The murderer of his wife had no legal right to be in the USA. Had our border jurisdiction been enforced, his wife would still be alive today. The widower is a useful idiot for those who are anti-American. Fie on them all!
The bottom line IS that if this person were NOT in our country his wife would be alive today!!! WHAT AN IDIOT!!!
Let’s cut through the yadda yadda yadda.
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But Adrienne was not murdered by an illegal immigrant, per se. She fell victim to a depraved killer who simply happened to be an undocumented immigrant.
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So if I didn’t have a driver’s license and I (God forbid) ran over your young daughter, crushing the life out of her. you wouldn’t have a problem with that Mr. Libtard, because I wasn’t an illegal driver, I was an undocumented automobile operator. After all, we have lots of bad licensed drivers on the road; it could have been one of them instead, which would make any licensing of mine completely irrelevant.
Good going hiring that ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT to do cheap work for you, Mr. Northeastern Libtard.
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The district attorney’s office advised me to accept the deal rather than go to trial. It was an agonizing decision: roll the dice for a life sentence or possibly end up with a manslaughter conviction, with her killer receiving a meager three to five years in prison. We took the deal. It was, simply, a business decision, albeit one with a hefty emotional price tag. Her killer will be deported upon his release, walking this earth a free man at 44 years old, while Adrienne’s vibrant life was snuffed out at 40.
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There’s where the biggest difference lies between Northeastern libtards and us rednecks.
I, as one of the aforementioned rednecks, would ask that Mr. Illegal Immigrant be released as soon as possible.
Just as long as me and my family know where he’s going to be released, we’ll solve our own problems. There might be enough left of him to put into a Ziploc bag and ship home with three or four stamps. We don’t need the government’s half-assed help.
She rented a small apartment to use as an office, in order to write. He was renovating another apartment nearby, hammering away, and the noise disturbed her. They got into an argument about the noise, she threatened him with INS. That was his first story. The next story was, she discovered him trying to steal from her purse, and he panicked.
He’s the only one left to tell the story, so he can pick the one he wants.
“Liberalism is a mental disease.”
You would think the brutal murder of your loved one would be the cure.
I prefer “alien invader”.
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