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Vol. 80/No. 7 February 22, 2016
Letters
Cop sentenced for beating
Former Inkster cop William Melendez was sentenced Feb. 2 to 13 months to
10 years in prison for the beating of autoworker Floyd Dent.
According to the website Heavy, Dent refused a plea deal on March 25.
Originally Dent was charged with resisting arrest and possession of
cocaine. This is an example of a point the Militant has been stressing.
Workers who are put through the “justice” system seldom go to trial.
Instead they are offered the “opportunity” to plead guilty to the lesser
charge. Mr. Dent refused this “opportunity” and had all charges dropped.
Robert Kissinger
Detroit, Michigan
‘Dumb guys in cowboy hats’
At first I had some support for the Oregon protesters, who have been
called “militants” in the media. They have had considerable support here.
But the racism and extremism of the protesters and occupiers has cost
them most of this support. Yes, some grievances are legitimate. But to
most people here they look like dumb white guys with cowboy hats.
Joan Little
Portland, Oregon
Free the Hammonds
I was pleased with your coverage of the occupation in Harney County,
Oregon. You did not fall into the trap of concentrating on the Bundyites
and their politics and made the right points about the importance for
civil liberties of the Hammonds’ persecution. It’s obvious from watching
TV reports and reading the Oregon papers that there is a big class
divide on this.
After reading the court’s summary, I think the government’s case against
the Hammonds is shaky. Their resentencing smacks of double jeopardy and
raises the question of fairness of maximum terms in the first place.
The Hammonds need defenders. This has been made difficult with the focus
of attention on the Bundyites and their occupation.
The Hammonds should be freed. There is an online petition for their
clemency, which I urge defenders of civil liberties to sign. It is at
savethehammonds.com and is sponsored by the Oregon Farm Bureau, among
others.
George Johnson
Bend, Oregon
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