D DAY+1

By the time you read this, it will be June 7, 2011. On June 7, 1944 150,000 allied troops had already landed in Normandy and were engaged in vicious fighting hedgerow to hedgerow trying to break out beyond the German lines. Some units had advanced less than a mile in shore and the invasion of nazi occupied France was less than a sure thing on June 7 and for many more days to come.

Remember our heroes as you all (prosecutors, defense attorneys, clerks, probation officers, police officers, and yes even you robed readers) go about administering justice in a system that would not even be in existence without their bravery. They were truly the greatest generation.

We are fortunate enough to have received part of an advanced copy of some thoughtful words that the former Governor of Alaska who quit her job in the middle of her term will say in reflection of D-Day:

Sarah Palin: "We remember DDay as the time when the allied allies had to go all the way to France to warn the Germans that the French were re-arming in a blatant attempt to stop american from freedoms and from Ronald Reagan enacting his tax cuts which also freed us from taxes. Boy those French and Germans had a lot in store for them when Ronald Reagan freed us from them when he tore down the wall that the Russians had put in Germany to stop the French from helping us or in other words stoping our freedoms. And Ronald Reagan too."

Rumpole Says: Wonderful words from the woman John McCain felt deserved to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

We're all doomed.

But until then.....

We neglected to mention the passing of two important Americans recently.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian died last week, and we are confident that he was a man way ahead of his time. History will show that his actions and his desire to help those near death die in a peaceful and humanitarian way will one day be recognized as acts of wisdom and compassion. Shame on a legal system that prosecuted and incarcerated him.

Last week also saw the passing of Elmer Pratt a/k/a Geronimo Ji Jaga.

If you don't think this country has political prisoners, then you don't know the story of Mr. Pratt. Read the wiki entry here.

Pratt was a member of the Black Panthers Party who was falsely accused and convicted of murder on the most flimsy of evidence. He was wrongfully incarcerated for 27 years. He spent 8 years in solitary confinement.

Pratt was a war hero in Vietnam. He received a bronze star for bravery and a purple heart. Upon returning to the US he used the GI bill to go to college where he studied political science. Pratt joined the Black Panthers at a time when a large segment of white america was worried about the violent overthrow of the government. In response, the FBI developed a campaign to infiltrate the Black Panthers. The campaign included using informants recruited from one of the two sections of the party that were feuding.

In 1968 A woman was killed in a robbery and her husband who witnessed the shooting originally identified another individual. But the FBI stepped in and used an informant from an opposing faction of the Black Panthers who had a grudge against Pratt. Pratt was represented by a young Johnny Cochran who assured his client the charges would be dropped once he spoke with the prosecution about the fact Pratt was 350 miles from the crime at the time and unbiased witnesses would testify to that.

The case was not dropped and it was later learned that the FBI and prosecution used additional moles and informants to provide them information on Cochran's defense.

Pratt's case was a setup from the get go. He was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned because he was an activist who vocally exercised his right to challenge the very existence of government he saw as corrupt.

Eventually freed after an appeals court confirmed that the government had failed to disclose exculpatory evidence, Pratt emigrated to Tanzania where he lived out the rest of his life. Who could blame him for losing faith in this country?