Originally Posted by Cedwards38
Someone in another thread stated, "I am having a hard time understanding why you and your ilk cannot come to the accept the fact that the resitution has been made to the satisfaction of the district and probably the law enforcment community. As far as they are concerned this case is closed. When an offer of amnesty is made and accepted, that is usually it. You are not going to get your pound of flesh.
If you have put people behind bars as you say, then your are probably aware settlements are reached and court records are sealed to protect identities. We, the general public, are not going to findout the names of the person(s) responsible for the cutting. All you are doing now is bullying those that disagree with you.
Let's all agree to move on...."
I am going to assume that you are sincerely puzzled by the notion that the "ilk" to which you refer refuses to be satisfied with the current status of the tree cutting saga. I don't want to argue with you or anyone else about this issue. Since it seems you are posing an honest inquiry, I will try to give an honest and completely respectful response. I really can only speak for myself, but I am guessing that my views coincide with those of many who continue to question, ponder, and analyze.
The reason why I have questioned this supposed resolution to the case of the tree cutters is that I believe in justice that is fair, public, equal, swift, and lawful. I believe that publicly elected and/or appointed servants owe their first and only allegiance to the full public they serve including providing us with complete and accurate information. I believe that justice should not be able to be bought, and that just because you have deep pockets does not mean you can break the law and avoid having to be subject to the law. I believe that no one is so important, rich, connected, smart, or beloved that they are above the law.
I don't want a pound of flesh. I don't want anyone to go to jail over cutting these trees.
I do want the perpetrators to pay the full costs, including the fine, and possibly be sentenced to some worthy public service to atone for their wrongdoing. In fact that could turn this bad thing into a good one, and truly give the perpetrators a way to redeem themselves in the eyes of the public. I do not want the citizens of The Villages to pay any of the costs. I do want the guilty parties to be identified and the public notified as to who they are, just like the various drunks, muggers, robbers, traffic offenders, vandals, shoplifters, and violators of public decency that grace our news every day and don't have the strings or the bucks to stay hidden from public scrutiny and justice. And I do not want this justice to take nine months and counting. I do want a full, impartial, and aggressive investigation of this crime, and reports from my elected and appointed officials about it's progress, and why it is taking so long to be solved, or why it ultimately can not be solved.
I do expect that the perpetrators of this crime are good people who made a bad mistake. I suspect that they feel guilty, embarrassed, stressed, and regretful. I honestly feel a little bit sorry for them. But just like the rest of us, they have to have the courage and the morality to come forward and admit their crime. I'm not opposed to a plea bargain or deal, but plea bargains and deals require the guilty to publicly confess, rather than remain hidden in the shadows. I don't want that public confession just to humiliate them, though after all these months of denial I'm sure it will. I want that because that's the way it works for all the rest of us.
In America we have justice. I hope in America we have the morality and backbone to take responsibility for our actions. That's what I was taught by my parents and my schools. That's what I've always believed. And that's why I continue to question this until these conditions are realized.
Now that I've answered your inquiry to the best of my ability, I'd like to pose some for you, or anyone else on this thread. Why are you so offended by those of us who are continuing to ask these questions? Why does it make you so angry, anxious, stressed,, unaccepting, and confrontational? How does it hurt you? How does it effect you at all? Are we insulting you or your family? Are we hurting your loved ones, or your property and possessions? If you don't agree with us, can you not just stop reading this thread instead of insisting that we accept your opinion and stop talking about it? Do we not have the right to ask questions about the public realm that we help fund? Even if you think we are wrong, do we not have the right to speak out? Why are you so adamant that we accept this deal as it stands and raise no further questions? If a criminal action occurred that directly effected you or your family, and the crime was not solved, and there was little indication that it ever would be solved, and someone suggested that you just accept that and move on, would you not continue to question?
I invite anyone who has suggested that we should accept and go on as if justice was served, and seem so annoyed by those of us who do not agree, to give me a clear and respectful explanation to my questions. I'm sincerely puzzled and want to know your rationale.
Here's what I know:
(a) someone cut down environmentally protected trees and stacked at least some the wood on or near the property where it was cut
(b) this crime remains unsolved, though public officials insist that it is still under investigation
(c) there has been some, but very little significant information reported by the local law enforcement, the District, the Daily Sun, the POA, the VHA, or any other entity
(d) many believe, including some experienced law enforcement investigators, that there are more aggressive avenues that this crime investigation could take which might lead to it being solved
(e) this has been going on for approximately nine months
(f) at least one member of one District Board of Supervisors suggested that an offer of prosecution amnesty be offered if the guilty parties came forward and admitted their crime and paid the costs, which may or may not have been the official position of the District leadership, law enforcement, or the local prosecutor
(g) a group about whose leadership, membership, purpose, and history we know nothing, came forward through a local attorney and paid some costs, but I'm not sure it is all the costs that have or will be incurred by the citizens of The Villages
(h) no individual or individuals came forward to take advantage of this prosecution amnesty offer and confessed to the crime
That's all I know. Just speaking for me, that's not enough.
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