BUT WHY?
by Sharon Rondeau
(Sep. 24, 2011) — The Post & Email was informed today that Walter Fitzpatrick, who was arrested following his sentencing hearing on September 23, 2011 at the Monroe County courthouse, has been transferred to the Loudon County jail.
The sentencing hearing was in regard to a conviction for assault rendered on June 23, 2011. The charge arose from an incident during which four Monroe County sheriff’s deputies broke down Fitzpatrick’s door, tasered him repeatedly and tore his left ear. The court had issued a warrant for Fitzpatrick’s arrest for allegedly failing to appear at a hearing which concerned his attorney-of-record.
Fitzpatrick has described the Monroe County judiciary as “a dictatorship” and “the government run wild at the local level.”
Judge Donald Paul Harris presided over yesterday’s sentencing hearing. Harris had signed his name to a false statement on paperwork issued to Carl Swensson in June of this year claiming that Swensson had provided information to the court about Walter Fitzpatrick and Darren Huff, which Swensson did not. Of the Monroe County judiciary, Swensson has said, “These judges need to be arrested. The district attorneys who are doing this need to be arrested, and the court clerk, Martha Cook, needs to be arrested for jury-tampering.”
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department has a history of brutality and maintaining slovenly conditions in the jail which violate Tennessee law. Inmates do not receive necessary medications or medical care, and overcrowding is a constant, if not continuous, problem.
The sheriff’s department may be involved in the murder and cover-up of a Monroe County elections official, Mr. Jim Miller. The Post & Email has been told that Mr. Miller might have had information about election fraud which was about to be committed during the August 2010 election. Bivens was not responsive to the local media regarding why an autopsy report was released by the medical examiner but heavily redacted four months after Miller’s death.
During his re-election campaign, Bivens stad:
Sheriff Bivens is committed to continuing this level of excellence in service to the county and the community. Sheriff Bivens feels that Law Enforcement is a co-operative effort between the community and Law Enforcement…
The news about Fitzpatrick’s relocation came from someone who went to the Monroe County jail to bring him paperwork this morning and was told that he had been taken to the Loudon County jail.
The Post & Email called the Loudon County jail at 9:15 p.m. EDT and spoke with a deputy. We stated that we were calling to inquire as to the welfare of an inmate and gave the deputy the name. He then asked, “What you wantin’ to know, ma’am?” We asked if Fitzpatrick was comfortable and well and the deputy said, “Yes.” We asked whether or not there were any marks or bruises on him, and he answered “No.” He said that he was not permitted to deliver a message to an inmate. We asked about visiting days and were told that they are Sundays and Thursdays from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. The deputy volunteered the hours, for which we thanked him.
An inmate who had been housed in the Monroe County jail and moved to the Loudon County jail for medical reasons described his experiences to The Post & Email last fall. Relatives of Mr. Jacobs had told The Post & Email that they were relieved when he was moved out of Monroe County. However, conditions at the Loudon County facility have been reported as the cause of a permanent injury to at least one person as a result of rainwater on the jail floor.
Regarding Fitzpatrick’s move from Monroe County, a witness to the sentencing yesterday stated, “Walter has caused so much hassle there that they didn’t want to bother with him (laughs). And he may be in better circumstances, so it’s better for him.” Following Fitzpatrick’s arrest last October, a press release was sent out to members of the domestic and overseas media, and the Monroe County jail received numerous phone calls protesting Fitzpatrick’s treatment.
Another individual went to the Loudon County jail to deliver the papers to Fitzpatrick after learning that he was there. The papers were given to the jailer, who walked into the inmates’ section and then returned, saying, “He has the papers.” The visitor was not allowed to see Fitzpatrick because Saturday is not a visiting day.
The Loudon County jail’s contact information is:
Loudon County Justice Center
12680 Highway 11 West
Suite #2
Lenoir City, Tennessee. 37771
Phone: (865) 986-6612
Fax: (865) 986-3621
A witness at Fitzpatrick’s trial referred to Jim Stutts, the prosecutor, as “that sleaze Stutts” and said his litany of Fitzpatrick’s alleged crimes was “a rant…He just rambled on and on about a whole lot of nothing, about all the things that Walter is supposedly guilty of…everything you could think of to make him look really, really bad.”
We asked the witness if Fitzpatrick was given enough time to speak in his own defense, and the answer was “Yes. He simply read the statement that you already printed, and said, ‘and I will take my leave,’ and then he just turned and walked out. It took them by surprise (laughs). And the bailiff…It just took them a while to react. It was kind-of comical in a way. But they brought him right back in, and of course, the sleazy newspaper reporter in the room – the only photographs he took was of them pulling Walter’s arms back. We have invoked the 35th Psalm against that court. Another witness told him that he’d like him to put in the article when he prints it that the 35th Psalm has been invoked against that court.”
We asked the witness why, the response was, “It’s what is called an imprecatory prayer. In other words, it’s asking the Lord to throw his judgment down on those involved.”
Verses 1-10 of Psalm 35 read:
GOD WILL JUDGE HIS ENEMIES
Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help. Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt. Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the LORD chase them. Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the LORD persecute them. For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul. Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall. And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation. All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him? Psalms 35:1-10
We asked the witness his opinion about the six-month sentence, and his response was, “For what they say Walter supposedly did, I think it’s absolutely ludicrous. If he had murdered somebody, he would have had far better results in the court. He would have had a good and honest court hearing. But for what he is standing up for – they can’t be bothered to do that.”
We then asked, “Do you think the Monroe County judiciary and sheriff’s department understand that they’ve taken away people’s constitutional rights?” He responded, “I don’t think so. I grew up in the city where the policemen knew us. When my brother did something wrong, they walked him home and said to my mother, “Mrs. ****, what are we going to do with him?” (laughs) I see the difference now of a bully mentality: I’m the boss, and you’ll do what I say. This is the wrong family to do that with.”
In regard to the Monroe County judiciary, the witness also said, “They have no problem lying.”