Warning from Massachusetts? Big Government With Blood On Its Hands
As 2013 draws to a close, I can’t help but think of the good, bad, and the ugly we all experienced this year. From a nation being run by a scandalous administration (do I really need to name Obama’s shortcomings and the lies to cover them up…again?) to international highs and lows, 2013 was definitely not the year for local, state, and international governments, especially here in Massachusetts.
In Massachusetts, inept bureaucrats in the government are directly responsible for a number of deaths of its citizens. This year, those who are paid to serve and protect those in the Commonwealth have miserably failed the taxpayers. From Department of Children and Families, the District Attorney’s Office, to the Boston Police Department, stories have emerged this year of government mishandling and negligent behavior. While mismanagement and negligence seem to be happening in multiple Massachusetts state agencies, one must wonder if the mismanagement and negligence is much worse than what’s been reported.
Recently, the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office admitted to “deficiencies” in (mis)handling the Jared Remy murder case. In August 2013, Remy, who is the son of former Red Sox infielder and TV broadcaster Jerry Remy, was released on a domestic violence charge following the DA’s decision to not hold him on bail. Remy then went back to the home he shared with his girlfriend, Jennifer Martel, and murdered her the following day.
On December 18, 2013, the Boston Globe released a report that concluded the Middlesex DA gave “too much weight” to Martel’s refusal to press charges against Remy and failed to investigate Remy’s living arrangements and his criminal background, which includes a history of domestic violence. Essentially, Remy was released back to the home where his girlfriend, the victim, lived. Ms. Martel lost her life as a direct result of the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office “mishandling” of the case, and what could be now called a case of “affluenza” for Jared Remy.
Unfortunately, Ms. Martel is not the only woman to lose her life at the hands of inept bureaucrats in Massachusetts. In July, a young woman named Amy Lord was kidnapped from her South Boston apartment, forced to withdraw money from several Boston-area ATMs, was beaten, stabbed, and murdered. The suspect, Edward Alemany, had been previously suspected in 2012 for assaulting another woman, leaving her unconscious but in possession of Alemany’s wallet.
That case, according to a July 2013 article in the Boston Globe, was mishandled by Detective Jerome Hall-Brewster of the Boston Police Department, who failed to return telephone calls and emails from the crime lab regarding evidence. As a result of his failure to follow up with the crime lab, Hall-Brewster determined “there was not enough probable cause to bring to the case to a clerk magistrate” even though the victim was found holding Alemany’s wallet and ID card. Hall-Brewster has since been demoted from the position of detective.
Perhaps the most disturbing mishandled case by Massachusetts bureaucrats is that of the recently reported disappearance of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver. Oliver’s mother and siblings were being monitored by the Department of Children and Families due to a history of drug abuse, physical abuse, and violence. Jeremiah was last seen alive by relatives in September, and was reported missing December 2, 2013. DCF conducted its final home visit in September and recommended the family be released from state oversight even though they had not actually seen Jeremiah, and failed to follow up on a claim that he was with other relatives. Oliver’s mother and her boyfriend are in jail and the boy is feared dead after his mother failed to produce the child by court order. In addition, a DCF social worker failed to conduct mandatory home visits for four months prior to the September home visit. Since this tragic revelation, the social worker and supervisor have been fired from the agency.
Virtually nothing can be done in Massachusetts without approval, oversight, and payment to the state government. Want to go fishing? Get a license. Want to own a firearm? Apply for a license to carry permit… and wait a year. The law abiding citizens in this state are overtaxed, their rights infringed, yet somehow the violent criminals and killers outlined above somehow slip through the governmental cracks. This state is run by politicians that strive to exercise more and more control over its citizens. Massachusetts prides itself in having the third strictest gun laws in the nation in hopes of curbing gun violence, however, people are still dying and some are dying as a direct result of the government’s inability to do its job. What if Amy Lord or Jennifer Martel were able to defend themselves with a firearm against these violent men, rather than their fate being left to an inept government agency? Massachusetts has failed to protect victims of domestic violence and properly prosecute violent criminals, while at the same time makes it nearly impossible for them to protect themselves.
America, if you want to see what chaos big government causes, just look at Massachusetts. As I have said in previous articles, Massachusetts is a glaring example of a state being managed exclusively by liberals and progressives. If you want to see what more government and less freedom can do to society, take a look at the Bay State, where criminals and violent offenders have more rights than the victim. Sorry, Massachusetts, your investigations into “deficiencies” are too little, too late, especially for Jeremiah, Amy, and Jennifer.
Image: Courtesy of: http://epic—–fails.wikispaces.com/
