Thanks to all for supporting my column, it's hard to believe 14 months have gone by so quickly. Rarely in life have I had a job that seemed so effortless. This was not the case this past column as I found myself distracted by our community’s reaction to the murder of Lucinda Knoll.
I had intended to write this column to be printed this past Thursday, but when I explained the premise of the column, many believed it wouldn't be used. With a basis of private justice, controversial would likely be an understatement in describing my thoughts.
The common opinion seen online is that our community fears the murderer could use tricks of law to sidestep the punishment he deserves. Unfortunately, even if a judge or jury would wish to deal out the harshest of punishment, they are bound by the law that exists at that time. It's no secret that the law fails to properly punish criminals on a regular basis.
When a rapist, child molester or murdeerr is allowed to live only to be later released into our community, we have the right to be enraged. It only takes a few minutes online to find stories of local criminals that were either released only to offend again,or were not given the time they deserved for the crime that they had committed. It has also been observed that those with local power, those that can afford a good lawyer, and those in law enforcement, tend to get much more watered-down sentences than the common man. The common man wishes to see equal time for equal crime, which isn't what tends to happen. This highlights an unjust and flawed system, which can lead to people seeking true justice on their own.
The common consciences I have seen, leans in the direction of private justice. People fear this case will turn out, as many do, with the murderer being given what would be a slap on the hand, compared to the punishment our community would choose to employ. People aren't looking for this type of law for every case, but slam-dunk cases such as this. With our economy slipping and government throwing money away hand over fist, a small community such as ours tends to see no need for expensive and time consuming trials for such cases. To be honest, the most common statement that I have seen and heard is that bullets are cheap. In my mind, stones are free, so if were headed that direction, why not go old school?
Our system of law has been set up in an attempt to ensure the innocent go free. Law would rather see 99 criminals go free, than one innocent person be punished. The fact is that innocent people are still convicted on a regular basis, while criminals tend to reap the benefits of such law. I would personally rather see one innocent person punished than have 99 criminals walking the streets. Remember under the current form of law, the innocent are still being punished, so it obviously doesn't work. On the other hand, a vigilante force, devoid of law, would likely make the same type of mistakes, while reacting in the heat of the moment. The question is, where is the happy medium?
The answer is thatthere is no happy ending in a situation like this. Both families will be saddened and changed by the death and punishment. I personally know that no matter how sad it would be I would pull the trigger or throw the first stone, were it my brother who had committed such an atrocious act. Unlike our system of law, we are not forced to give a criminal the benefit of the doubt, we are entitled to our perception of that person. With this said, I would surely side with the victim, simply because it's the right thing to do. Unfortunately, law isn't as cut and dry as right and wrong! There is a lot of gray area in law, which causes people to question its effectiveness, thus highlighting our community’s reaction.
I spend nearly every minute I can in the wild, and find that nature's law is so much more predictable than modern human law. There is no question as to what would happen to a lone wolf were it to attack and kill a member of a large healthy pack. The animal would be dismembered immediately, no questions asked. Were that the punishment for human murderers, I guarantee there would be less of them, whether out of fear or the repercussions. This would be a fact.
The days of “we the people” and “bring your own stone to the execution” are long gone. This is plain to see, being that over 90 percent of our community would be happy to tote their own stone, and take part in the cleansing of our beloved town. It seems these days that law more often than not supports the lawless, more than the law-abiding.
Let it be known that the outdoorsmen and women of this community would rather bring their own stone, than to leave it up to the system to do what's right. We as a community family have all been hit hard by this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who knew and loved Lucinda.
Good wishes to all, and please love and respect your neighbor.

• As an added note: Lucinda Knoll was murdered due to domestic violence. She leaves behind three boys, Joe, Kurt, and Sal, who will be raised by family. Lucinda has paid the ultimate price, and has given the greatest gift as an organ donor. We would like to raise as much money for the boys’ future that we can. Please help by giving any amount that you can to help us take care of her children. Lucinda was a resident of Norwich and Oxford. The contact information for Lucinda's fund is www.gofundme.com/LucindaKnoll