Andy Thibault's Blog, page 28

Looking forward to ‘Mornings w/ Ray Dunaway’ @WTIC1080 8:50am Dec. 1 #moreCOOLJUSTICE

RayMan web page
















Tweet













ALSO UPCOMING:

[image error]

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 19: Byrd's Books, Bethel



The Politics of Justice, Gateway Community College, 12-2-14


Jan. 15, 2015, 7 p.m., Oliver Wolcott Library , Litchfield.

Flashback: 'The joint was jumpin' -Bob Thiesfield photo gallery #HickoryStickBookshop #moreCOOLJUSTICE 10-10-14

more COOL JUSTICE website

more COOL JUSTICE Facebook page

more COOL JUSTICE YouTube

Cool Justice Blog

My old pal Anson Smith puts ‘more COOL JUSTICE’ in great company

Anson Smith, a former Connecticut newsman who went on to semi-normal work in communications, generously places ‘more COOL JUSTICE’ in the company of ‘The World of Jimmy Breslin,’ ‘The Impossible H.L. Mencken’ and Drew Pearson and Jack Anderson’s ‘The Case Against Congress.’ Smith is also known to many former colleagues as an unindicted co-conspirator in ‘The Choir Practice Diaries,’ Chapter 2, ‘more COOL JUSTICE.’

Tweet

UPCOMING:

[image error]

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 19: Byrd's Books, Bethel



The Politics of Justice, Gateway Community College, 12-2-14


Jan. 15, 2015, 7 p.m., Oliver Wolcott Library , Litchfield.

Flashback: 'The joint was jumpin' -Bob Thiesfield photo gallery #HickoryStickBookshop #moreCOOLJUSTICE 10-10-14

more COOL JUSTICE website

more COOL JUSTICE Facebook page

more COOL JUSTICE YouTube

Cool Justice Blog

Flashback, 2004: Mary Werblin, longest-serving lawyer for Bonnie Foreshaw, on WTIC's Bruce and Colin Show

Bruce and Colin Show, Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Atty. Mary Werblin, appeal counsel for Bonnie Foreshaw
on Hartford, CT CBS affiliate WTIC News Talk 1080

Colin McEnroe: CM
Mary Werblin: MW

CM: The cost of incarceration has driven to the forefront a little bit by the case of the Newman's Own PEN Award. It's a First Amendment Award. It was given to an inmate named Barbara Parsons Lane. She was one of the contributors to this book, Couldn't Keep It To Myself, compiled by Wally Lamb while teaching at York Correctional. And a lot of stuff has happened around this book. It's fair to say that PEN gave the award partly to call attention to an injustice, the attempt by the state to obtain any royalties that might be paid to these prisoners.

One of the writers is Bonnie Foreshaw. She's connected to Barbara Parsons Lane in a lot of ways, including the fact that Bonnie Foreshaw has complained of a very vivid incident of sexual harassment by a guard at York Correctional Facility. Bonnie Foreshaw is an amazing story herself, even what she is doing in prison. In 1986 she was carrying a gun, apparently because she had recently been divorced from her third husband who was stalking and threatening her. She accidentally shot and killed a pregnant woman while she was attempting to protect herself from a man who was physically assaulting her at a gas station. She didn't know either one of these people. We've got a lawyer here, why should I be talking about this. Joining us right now is Mary Werblin, who is a Waterbury attorney and lawyer for Bonnie Foreshaw. Hi!

MW: Hi, how are you?

CM: Why should I try to explain this?

MW: Please continue. So far, so good.

CM: So in 1986 she's carrying a gun because there's this domestic violence situation, a stalking, she gets assaulted by someone at a gas station and did the man himself later testify that he pulled the pregnant woman in front of him as a shield?

MW: Yes, he did. He got on the stand. The woman was actually trying to pull him off my client, Bonnie Foreshaw. Bonnie was trying to scare him off. Picture, the pregnant woman is trying to pull [the man] off Bonnie, and that's how she got the bullet. She didn't even aim the bullet. It just went off. She had no criminal record. She wasn't out to kill anyone. In my estimation this was clearly a manslaughter case.

CM: In fact, she was convicted of pre-meditated murder.

MW: Yes. And the trial was a travesty. It was a four-day trial. We thought there was ineffective assistance of counsel, and on those grounds we appealed it. Unfortunately, we lost. We had the same judge, and he upheld the initial conviction [and sentence] 45 years. This was the longest sentence for any female in the history of Connecticut.

CM: So, here she is, in prison for pre-meditated murder for 45 years in the killing of a woman she didn't know who got in between her and the assailant she had never met before. I don't know how this could be pre-meditated murder.

MW: I don't either. I'll never know. I'll never understand it.

CM: She winds up being one of the people who writes in Wally's book, but the interesting thing is now she has come forward about a guard who had been verbally dissing on her in the past, actually did sort of touch her genitals in a pretty extensive way, according to the allegation.

MW: Yes, it was very extensive. It's been written about lately. It's kind of interesting it's been written about coincidentally with this PEN Award. And another interesting factor, the woman receiving the PEN Award is one of the witnesses to this assault.

CM: I heard that this morning. And I got a little chill.

MW: This is very true. She gave a statement, which I have in my file to that effect, that this happened. The DOC is denying anything bad happened or anything inappropriate happened whatsoever.

CM: You wrote a letter to the DOC. The DOC, by the way, is the Department of Correction. And within two days they told you basically that this never happened.

MW: Yeah, they told me that. They told me there had been a state police investigation, which I couldn't get my hands on. I said I'd like a copy of that investigation, I went to the FOI Commission and I never received it. I don't think [an investigation] was ever done, initially, which is the process. The process is they do an in-house investigation and that is followed by the state police if necessary. I certainly was calling for an investigation, I wanted an independent investigation. I don't understand why the state is investigating the state. That makes no sense to me. I think some kind of commission should be appointed that is totally independent of the state that would look into this kind of matter.

CM: As far back as 2000, Amnesty International, the international human rights organization, began asking for investigations of sexual harassment of prisoners there at that time. This isn't necessarily a new phenomenon. It is true that the state police recently re-opened their investigation.

MW: Absolutely correct. When that happened, I wrote again to Commissioner Lantz saying that there was an ongoing investigation and I was under the impression that under the administrative directive of the Department of Correction that the alleged perpetrator should be suspended pending the outcome of the investigation. And I got another letter back from Commissioner Lantz, saying, no there is no investigation going on. The C.O. [correction officer] did not do anything incorrect and there is no state police investigation. The case is closed. This blew my mind. This can't be happening. So I called the state police. They wrote me a letter saying we are absolutely doing a full-fledged investigation. And I got that letter and sent her a copy and I've yet to hear from her at all.

CM: And is the FBI investigating this, too?

MW: Yes. And that's new. That just happened on Friday. I got a call from Bonnie saying that two FBI agents have come to the prison and have been asking her questions for a good length of time about the incident itself, which happened on Aug. 24, 2003. so they're looking into it as well. Whoever initiated that, I'm not sure.

CM: Well, Mary Werblin, attorney for Bonnie Foreshaw, we thank you for your time. We will continue to follow this story, as well as the stories of the eight or nine other women who contributed to that book.

MW: OK, I'm very grateful for your time. And I'm glad to discuss this case, because I think it's the tip of some iceberg. I really do. I think there's a lot more than is being uncovered.

CM: Well, thanks for being with us …For Bonnie Foreshaw and some other stuff involving the prisons, Steve Slosberg from the New London Day really acknowledged a couple days ago in a column Andy Thibault, crusading journalist Andy Thibault. I hate even saying this because it just encourages Andy to send me more e-mail in big capital letters and stuff. Andy really is like a throwback to the crusading journalists of old, to the I.F. Stones and the muckrakers and the people who really are engaging their passion, he is probably in a lot of ways what the rest of us have forgotten to be. We're all too corporate now. I just have to give Andy some credit. He really goes after these stories with his guts and passion. He's always sending me e-mails about horrific things that are happening and I almost am scared to open them, J'Accuse Andy things. Often it's a pretty significant story that other people aren't telling. Even though he's a wacko, he's a very important part of the Connecticut journalism constellation, assuming there is such a thing.

Preview: The Politics of Justice, Gateway Community College, 12-2-14

Tweet

Cool Justice Blog

GCC Announcement: 'more COOL JUSTICE' - Andy Thibault & Bonnie Foreshaw Speak on the Politics of Justice Dec. 2 at Gateway Community College

Special thanks to Prof. Franz Douskey, Library Director Clara Ogbaa and Public Affairs Director Evelyn Gard

[image error]

Contact: Evelyn Gard, Public Affairs
Cell: (203) 314-4250
Office: (203) 285-2065

click
on images
for better viewing

[image error]

(NEW HAVEN, CT) November 10, 2014 – Local author, speaker and Freedom of Information advocate Andy Thibaultwill join Bonnie Foreshaw to discuss his latest book, more COOL JUSTICE, during a forum with students and faculty in the GCC Library and Learning Commons at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

Thibault’s second collection, more COOL JUSTICE includes hard-hitting essays that are credited with helping to free Foreshaw from prison 27 ½ years after she was unjustly convicted of first degree murder of a person she had never met. Foreshaw, a contributor to the acclaimed prison journals Couldn’t Keep It To Myself and I’ll Fly Away, has since begun work on a memoir.

In his foreword to more COOL JUSTICE, Andrew Kreig states “More than ever, the public needs bare-knuckle advocates. One such fighter is Andy Thibault, author of the superb more COOL JUSTICE. His fifth book exposes injustice much in the style of his Law and Justice in Everyday Life, which he authored in 2002 to much acclaim.” Novelist Chandra Prasad calls Thibault “Connecticut’s premiere journalistic warrior.” Wally Lamb, who edited Couldn’t Keep It To Myself and I’ll Fly Away, says: “Thibault is a junkyard dog for justice who bares his teeth at pomposity and institutional unfairness and only bites the truly deserving.”

Earlier this year Thibault was presented with the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information’s Stephen A. Collins Award for his “Many contributions to the cause of open and accountable government and a free and vigorous press In Connecticut.”

[image error] Mr. Thibault and Ms. Foreshaw will speak in the GCC Library and Learning Commons multipurpose room (S217) on the second floor of the south building. This event is free and open to the public through the generosity of the Esther Haseltine Schiavone Cultural Fund established in 2006 through the Gateway Community College Foundation.

Mr. Thibault will sign copies of his book, more COOL JUSTICE may be purchased on-site at the reduced price of $15 for this event.

CBS880 NY: CT woman released after serving 27 years for murder [11-15-13]

Flashback '05: Bonnie Foreshaw Must Go Free / CT Newsmakers

Tweet


Also UPCOMING:

[image error]

Byrd's Books, Bethel: gracious host for 'more COOL JUSTICE'


Jan. 15, 2015, 7 p.m., Oliver Wolcott Library , Litchfield.

Flashback: 'The joint was jumpin' -Bob Thiesfield photo gallery #HickoryStickBookshop #moreCOOLJUSTICE 10-10-14

more COOL JUSTICE website

more COOL JUSTICE Facebook page

more COOL JUSTICE YouTube

Cool Justice Blog

In praise of Eartha Kitt & Benjamin Spock

HowardZinnClip from Jeff Zinn on Vimeo.

Tweet



Cool Justice Blog

Look who’s gettin the ‘more COOL JUSTICE’ vibe now

Louis The Coin

Flashback: Louis at Gateway Community College
Cool Justice editor's note: Watch for news about Louis the Coin's memoir: "You Thought It Was More -- The Real Providence Brought To Life" *[Some of this really happened ... ]



Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty at John Bale Books, Waterbury, just a few days before the recent election

Esty wins 2nd term

Tweet

Byrd's Books, Bethel: gracious host for 'more COOL JUSTICE'


Also UPCOMING:


Dec. 2, 11 a.m., Gateway Community College , New Haven, w/ Bonnie Foreshaw, contributor to “Couldn’t Keep It To Myself” & “I’ll Fly Away;”

Proud 2 stand w/ the women of #illflyaway and #couldntkeepittomyself

Jan. 15, 2015, 7 p.m., Oliver Wolcott Library , Litchfield.

Flashback: 'The joint was jumpin' -Bob Thiesfield photo gallery #HickoryStickBookshop #moreCOOLJUSTICE 10-10-14

more COOL JUSTICE website

more COOL JUSTICE Facebook page

more COOL JUSTICE YouTube

Cool Justice Blog

Former Special Forces Copter Pilot / Novelist Todd Wood Returns to Litchfield Nov. 12 with Reading at Oliver Wolcott Library

Litchfield, CT-- Novelist L. Todd Wood, who last appeared in Litchfield as the Memorial Day Parade speaker this year, returns to town Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. for a reading and book signing at Oliver Wolcott Library. The post- Veteran's Day event is free and open to the public. A wine and cheese reception is included.
Registration at Oliver Wolcott library

There was a notable stillness about the Memorial Day crowd as Wood recounted his own military training and the sacrifice of a certain soldier who embodied the U.S. Military Code of Conduct for those captured by hostile forces.
U.S. Military Code of Conduct

Here’s a video of the speech, which is under 10 minutes


Wood’s economic thrillers – Currency, Sugar and Delta – offer a unique perspective on today’s international conflicts as they unfold rapidly. He brings not only the foundation of military training and experience as a U.S. Air Force special operations helicopter pilot, but also a second career in finance with a focus on the Caribbean.

He is a contributor to Fox Business, The Moscow Times, Zero Hedge, NY Post, Newsmax Money News, and others. He splits his time between the New York Metro area and Moscow.



Tweet

More about Todd Wood:

Born in Georgia and raised in Savannah, Todd spent his early summers in Carp Lake, Michigan listening to the vivid stories of his grandparents recalling their youth in the northern wilderness. Ever since his earliest days, he loved story telling.

Todd left Savannah in 1982 to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO where he studied aeronautical engineering. Upon graduation in 1986, he immediately left the Academy for flight school. His initial assignment was flying Combat Search and Rescue helicopters at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska. In the UHAE (Unique Harsh Arctic Environment-pronounced "Yoo Hay" by Alaskans) he flew local rescue missions and was also deployed throughout Asia. During this time he was credited with saving many lives and even more assists. In addition to flying exciting missions,

Todd also managed to graduate from the University of Alaska Anchorage with an M.S. in Engineering Management.

In 1990 he volunteered for Special Operations and went back to flight school. In 1991 he was assigned to the 20th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, FL, flying MH-53J Pave Low helicopters.

Immediately he was deployed to Kuwait. Over the next three years he was active in classified missions in support of counter terrorism under the control of the National Command Authority and deployed throughout the world. His customers included SEAL Team Six and Delta Force. He left the Air Force as a Captain in 1994. During this hectic period in his life he found time to write his first novel, “The Ultimate Solution,” which was never published. He did publish an article in the Armed Force's Journal in 1994 on Special Operations Aviation.

1994 found Todd joining an investment bank and earning a chance to expand his knowledge of his other passion, finance. During this second career he became highly knowledgeable in Emerging Markets Fixed Income and traveled a great deal internationally with a focus on the Caribbean. He has conducted business in more than 40 countries. He became acutely aware of the consequences of economic decisions and their effect on national and economic security.



However, Todd's love of storytelling was uncontrollable. He left the financial business in 2011 to write. Currency was published in December of that year. Once he began typing, he never stopped.

Todd Wood @ Twitter

Cool Justice Blog

Byrd's Books, Bethel: gracious host for 'more COOL JUSTICE'

BETHEL, Conn. – Local author, speaker, and Freedom of Information advocate Andy Thibault will be on hand at a local bookstore to sign copies of his latest book “more COOL JUSTICE,” a second collection of hard-hitting essays credited with helping to free a woman unjustly convicted of first degree murder.


Thibault, who was presented earlier this year with the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information’s Stephen A. Collins Award, will be at Byrd’s Books, on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. The store is at 126 Greenwood Ave., Bethel. Phone: 203-730-2973.



Novelist Chandra Prasad calls Thibault “Connecticut’s premiere journalistic warrior.” Wally Lamb says: “Thibault is a junkyard dog for justice who bares his teeth at pomposity and institutional unfairness and only bites the truly deserving.”

In his foreword to “more COOL JUSTICE,” Andrew Kreig states “More than ever, the public needs bare-knuckle advocates...One such fighter is Andy Thibault, author of the superb more COOL JUSTICE. His fifth book exposes injustice much in the style of his Law and Justice in Everyday Life, which he authored in 2002 to much acclaim.”





Byrd's Books Facebook page

Byrd's Books website

Tweet


UPCOMING:


Dec. 2, 11 a.m., Gateway Community College , New Haven, w/ Bonnie Foreshaw, contributor to “Couldn’t Keep It To Myself” & “I’ll Fly Away;”

Proud 2 stand w/ the women of #illflyaway and #couldntkeepittomyself

Jan. 15, 2015, 7 p.m., Oliver Wolcott Library , Litchfield.

Flashback: 'The joint was jumpin' -Bob Thiesfield photo gallery #HickoryStickBookshop #moreCOOLJUSTICE 10-10-14

more COOL JUSTICE website

more COOL JUSTICE Facebook page

more COOL JUSTICE YouTube

Cool Justice Blog

Sickening precedent: Statements to CT #FOI Commission 10-22-14, Re; Suppressed Report

The State Govt That Decapitated #FOI Creating A #PoliceState

Tweet

more COOL JUSTICE website

more COOL JUSTICE Facebook page

more COOL JUSTICE YouTube





What’s for lunch? 'more COOL JUSTICE' at John Bale Book & Café Co.

Cool Justice Blog

Look who’s reading 'more COOL JUSTICE' now: poet Sandra Ebner & litigator Bruce Baron

Sandra Bishop Ebner’s poems have appeared in various literary journals. Her first book, “The Space Between,” was published in 2000 by Hanover Press. Ebner’s work is featured in the anthology, “The Poetry of Nursing, Poems and Commentaries of Leading Nurse-Poets,” published by Kent State University Press. She is a former psychiatric case manager for a Visiting Nurse service in northwest Connecticut.


Brooklyn, NY litigator and negotiator Bruce Baron is featured frequently as a legal expert on FOX News Channel, MSNBC, CNN, Court TV, many national & local talk radio shows, as well as print media. Baron is Special Counsel To The President, Dennis W.Quirk, of The New York State Court Officers Association.

Tweet

more COOL JUSTICE website

more COOL JUSTICE Facebook page

more COOL JUSTICE YouTube





What’s for lunch? 'more COOL JUSTICE' at John Bale Book & Café Co.

Cool Justice Blog