MURDER IN MANATEE Blog Post by Patti Lawson - Mar.28.2014 - 9:36 am 4 Buck and Bill...you were murdered by Manatee County, but will live in our hears forever. Today two living beings were murdered in Manatee County, Florida. These two souls had a wonderful life interrupted and eventually stolen from them. No one will be prosecuted for their deaths. They were not killed by a single criminal, but by a group of so-called professionals. The killers were men and women in positions of power in a small Florida town, some of them were elected by taxpayers to look out for the well-being of the citizens who put them in office. They boarded a power trip with an unknown reason for hatred and bias and they didn’t stop until two beautiful Australian Shepherds, the much loved dogs of Karen Erskine were senselessly deprived of their lives. The County Attorneys, the Justice System, the Animal Control Officers in Manatee County spent more than 400 days persecuting these dogs and Karen Erskine their owner, their companion, their trainer. All I can say is there must not be many important governmental issues in Manatee County that so much time and personnel could be devoted to this vendetta. And Karen’s life while interrupted as well, is now changed forever. It doesn’t end here. A serious investigation must be made into the government of Manatee County and why they were hell bent on destroying these particular dogs. I was not involved in this matter from the beginning and leave this excellent letter by a Florida Attorney to detail the entire case. And my perception of this debacle begins here. https://facebook/stephanie.place.9/posts/10201034202975762 A final order was issued by the Court on March 26, 2014 after the District Court of the State of Florida for the Second District rejected the appeal filed on behalf of Karen, Buck and Bill as “untimely” because Attorney Thomas Ostrander filed it after the filing deadline. Judge Farrance jumped right in and ordered the murder of the dogs. Don’t know about Judges in Manatee County, but here in my jurisdiction we often wait months for a decision. We also grant extensions when motions are filed late. Why? Because we want to win a case fairly and don’t wait on the sidelines to pounce and take advantage of a mistake like the Manatee County legal community did in this case. This is a common tactic of lawyers who don’t have the law on their side. Judge Thomas Farrance showed no “judicial discretion” whatsoever and the language in his order was unduly harsh. “She (Karen Erskine) shall be accompanied by county personnel and shall not be in possession of any device capable of any video or audio recording.” County personnel, in particular have been hostile to this case and everyone involved since the beginning. Why did they have to be there? Why were recordings prohibited? Could it be because they were ashamed of what might get out to the larger world beyond the Manatee Judicial Enclave? He goes on to say the “incinerated remains” would be preserved until a “mutually agreed method of delivery is made.” That might be never because there have been only ONE SIDED agreements in this case. Assistant County Attorney James Minix responded to Karen’s request filed in a proper court motion, to please have her dogs’ bodies to bury them. I’ve never seen a more blatant show of assumed power from a public servant before. First of all Minix’s response was inaccurate. For him to state, “ …the Court has already acquiesced to the sensitivities of the dog owner in this unprecedented case.” Mr. Minix…when did this alleged acquiescence occur? When Karen’s house was entered without a search warrant, without probable cause, and without a seizure order and her dog (one dog was taken at the scene of the incident) was taken away never to be returned to her? Was it when she was denied ample visitation time with her dogs over the past 400 days? Was it when your law enforcement refused to investigate the break-in at the house where the dogs were, yet investigated another one in the same neighborhood? Was it when your court allowed an inexperienced real estate attorney to handle this matter initially? Was it when you blamed social media for the “circus like atmosphere surrounding this matter. Mr. Minix, it was a circus like atmosphere, because the employees of the Manatee County were handling it like a bunch of clowns. If you paid attention to the animal advocates you’d know there was nothing “clown” like in their sorrow, tears, despair, and finally devastation resulting not from social media Sir, but from the misguided and evil intentions of your government. In the last 48+ hours, I have called, e-mailed, faxed, prayed, posted, everything I could in some small feeble attempt to save these dogs. I was treated rudely by female receptionists in the County Clerk’s Office. The County Attorney’s Office, the Judge’s Office, and the County Commission’s office. The County Attorney woman answered a question of mine with…”We are well aware of the situation, and hung up the phone. Really? If you were well aware of it and you had any guts or compassion, you might have just left you job in protest. No, all the puppets in all these offices just went along and they are all guilty of being an accessory both before and after the fact to murder. This inccludes every member of the County Commission and every elected Senator or Representative for th4e State of Florida both State and Federal. Hope that makes you all sleep well. I found last evening that Buck and Bill were gone. Murdered by the County. Murdered by the people in positions that are supposed to honorable and ones of public trust. Somewhere along the line all of these individuals became misguided as to their true role in the small world of governing a county, not realizing that the outside world which is huge was watching them. We are not done. The Governor was on the telephone at the last minute, considering a pardon, but Manatee County would not be stopped in their determination to destroy these dogs. What does Rick Scott have to say about this? Does he have such little power over this rogue county that they dismiss his call and move ahead with no reaction or discipline from him? Karen was given the choice of being physically removed or having the dogs killed. What a draconian decision to put before a woman who for over a year has had her world torn upside down, her constitutional rights violated, her beloved dogs illegally taken from her, suffered all matter of ill treatment from so called “Animal Control” people, yet fought the good fight until there was nothing left to do. The picture of her leaving the shelter says it all. A very long time ago, I was a little girl riding in the front seat of my Grandfathers big shiny Lincoln in downtown Pittsburgh. I don’t remember where he was taking us that day. I don’t remember if we had anything to eat or if he bought us a present. I remember it was raining and it was cold. I saw a dog ready to dart out in the street. He was dripping wet and he was shivering. I begged my Grandfather to stop and let me get him in the car. He kept driving and said to me, Patty Jo! You cant save every homeless dog you know.” Even as a small girl, I remember thinking, “Why not.” And so I asked him out loud. “Why not. Why can’t we get him?” He continued to drive and I began to cry.Karen Erskine leaves the death scene of her precious dogs comforted by her vet and his vet tech. Ive never forgotten that and I’ve never quit asking that question. I became a lawyer because I had noble expectations of my profession and maybe I could just save every homeless dog and help every person who needed it. I know one thing, I have tried to do that for 20 years and I have never given up. Manatee County murdered two dogs. They destroyed anyone’s view of a fair and impartial justice system where the letter of the law is not always the answer. Creative solutions based on human kindness do not show weakness. Stubborn adherence to false beliefs does. It takes a courageous person to go against the tide of ignorance and dishonesty. Such actions as we’ve witness go a long way to destroy belief in the basic goodness of the human race. There was not one person in the government of the county brave enough to step forward and say, “This is wrong.” The world is looking at the Murderers in Manatee County and while they most likely won’t lose any sleep over their actions, we can only hope they lose their elections, their jobs, and gain the disdain of the outside world they so deserve.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 13:23:39 +0000
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