Posted on 01/26/2003 9:33:32 AM PST by eyespysomething
Posted on Sun, Jan. 26, 2003
For Putnam sheriff, Nuwaubian leader's fate is a battle won By Rob Peecher Telegraph Staff Writer
EATONTON - Since Sheriff Howard Sills first took on Malachi York and the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors in 1998, he has been at the center of a storm.
It all started when he filed suit to force York's group, to close down a nightclub at the group's Putnam County village.
Since then, the Nuwaubians, in fliers distributed across Middle Georgia, have called Sills a racist, accused him of beating his ex-wife, and said he was responsible for murder.
Prominent black leaders - the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, and state Rep. Tyrone Brooks among them - have accused Sills of unfairly targeting York and the Nuwaubians because of their race and religion.
Now, with Nuwaubian leader York confessing in both state and federal courts to molesting 13 children among his followers, Sills says it's not vindication he feels.
"I don't feel a need to be vindicated," Sills said. "I'm the sheriff. I have a duty to protect the lives, property, persons, health and morals of the people. The tool I do that with is the enforcement of the laws of this state. Now I don't feel the need to justify my actions when my actions are the duties of the office I hold."
Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Fred Bright, who prosecuted York, said, "I don't think anyone will ever be able to fully appreciate the personal sacrifices that Sheriff Howard Sills has made to bring this defendant to justice. The man has absolutely no fear."
Sills said he didn't like the things people said about him or the things the Nuwaubians wrote about him.
"I knew it wasn't true," he said.
He also lashed out at former Gov. Roy Barnes - who tried to mediate the Nuwaubian situation at the request of Brooks in 1999.
Sills says that Barnes butted in and tried to tell him how to do his job.
And he has harsh words for the black leaders who have criticized him and defended York.
"The former governor was a political whore, and I think it was best evidenced in the last election. Tyrone Brooks, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and the likes - they hold themselves out to be the champion of the oppressed black people. ... If they truly were interested in oppressed black people ... where were these great champions of oppressed black people? Where were they?
"Who was being oppressed out here on Shady Dale Road? Who was being oppressed in Brooklyn? Who was being oppressed in Sullivan County (N.Y.)? Wasn't any white people being oppressed. It was little black girls and boys that were defenseless.
"And who do they come to defend? They come to defend the (expletive deleted) animal that was preying upon them. I totally dismiss them."
Sills calls York the embodiment of "real evil."
"This man has perpetrated real evil in the most despicable manner imaginable with virtual impunity. The conclusion of this case is a good example that, with the dedication of the people who have a duty to protect the public, justice and the law will prevail."
Sills said news coverage has been fair, but took exception with editorials that ran in The Macon Telegraph that have sometimes questioned his handling of the Nuwaubians' cases.
Sills, who took office Jan. 1, 1997, has been investigating York and the Nuwaubians - not just for child molestation, but other crimes - for nearly his entire time as sheriff. He said he is concerned that the reputation he built over 28 years in law enforcement seemed worthless.
Before becoming Putnam County sheriff, he was the chief deputy in Baldwin County, handled security investigations for an Atlanta bank and also worked for the DeKalb County sheriff's department.
"I've solved case after case after case of serious crimes ... and suddenly my credibility is questioned simply because this guy says he's being oppressed for race reasons. That's the thing that upset me the most throughout the entire thing," he said.
"That bothered me more than anything," Sills said. "That's a mighty powerful piece of armor for criminality. It's a paper thin faade, and that's scary when you think about what's gone on here and how long it's gone on.
"What other criminal activities around the country are flourishing because the political powers-that-be are not doing their duty - not their job, but their duty - because someone's playing the race card?"
Too words:
Too Wanna
Your undoing, and then comes HiLIARy...
Will I get relagated to banishment til 2009 again for mentioning the "H" word???
Sheriff Sills sounds like one hell of a man.
Stay safe; stay armed.
Eaker
God bless 'em.
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