In the past week, I have been conversing via e-mail with some the men who are prosecuting me. I have copied the correspondence below for public perusal. I am feeling confused because my need to understand and be understood is not being met. It would make life more wonderful for me and meet my need of understanding to receive constructive feedback regarding ideas on how to proceed. Please send e-mails with suggestions to LiveFreeOrDance (at) gmail (dot) com
E-mail 5: (Prosecutors’ “Final Offer”) April 17, 2012
Dear Mr. Horton,
My e-mail to you dated April 12, 2012 and sent at 9:46 AM (see below) constitutes my and Attorney Webb’s final offer prior to trial. Regarding the charges Attorney McLaughlin is prosecuting, you will need to contact him directly.
Should the matters being prosecuted by me proceed to trial, all charges will be brought forward for trial, and, should the State prevail, the State is, obviously, not bound by the proposed resolution below.
Thank you for your views, but it appears as if the gulf between us is simply too large for a negotiated resolution. At this time, the State will, as it did before, be ready for trial. I urge you to consider retaining an attorney as you are facing some serious charges.
Sincerely yours,
David Lauren, ACA
David Lauren, Esq.
E-mail 4: (My response to first counter-offer) April 17, 2012
Dear Mr. Lauren, Mr. McLaughlin, and Mr. Webb,
I have read your offer of a global plea wherein I would plead to charges resisting arrest, refusing to be processed, and contempt, at the penalty of 540 days in CCHOC, plus about $1,500, all but 90 days stayed.
I feel unsettled because I have a need for peace that is not being met. One way my need for peace could be me is if you would drop the charges against me.
I have confidence in our abilities to create a solution in which all of our needs can be met. In the case that simply dropping the charges would leave your own needs unmet, I would respectfully ask what your needs are and offer the following:
Yes, I would be happy to plea to charges of possession, obstructing, resisting, and contempt in exchange for forfeiting a trial.
I would really like to change the proposed sentence to 150 hours of community service to run concurrent. In that time, I would be happy to paint, garden, and do a daily afternoon litter cleanup at central square or other neighborhood parks. Because of my involvement supporting the Hundred Nights Homeless Shelter, I would also dedicate time to volunteering there as well as the community food bank.
Since I strongly prefer a community-building approach to justice, I will not accept payments of any fines except in the form of community service.
I feel uneasy about a punishment in the CCHOC because I have a need for autonomy, and that need would not be met without freedom. Though I do not think the people of Keene should pay for my food and housing, my incarceration would leave the people of Keene no choice. It would make life more wonderful for me if you would accept my offer of community service.
Sincerely,
Derrick J. Horton
75 Leverett St.
Keene, NH 03431
*All correspondence is likely to be published to LiveFreeOrDance.com*
E-mail 3: (Prosecutors’ first counter-offer) April 12, 2012
Dear Mr. Horton,
I have heard back from Attorney McLaughlin and he indicated that your proposed counter-offer to the global resolution offered is not acceptable to him as it regards the charges he is prosecuting you on. He understands that Attorney Webb and I may make an offer to you regarding our charges.
In view of that, the following is an offer involving only those charges being prosecuted by Attorney Webb and me. Regarding the charges being prosecuted by Attorney McLaughlin, you should contact him.
Attorney Webb’s charge – Remand to District Court, accepting the sentence as originally imposed.
Charges I’m bringing forward – 1.) Criminal Trespass – reduce to a Class B Misdemeanor, $500.00 fine;
2.) Resisting Arrest or Detention – Plea to Class A misdemeanor, 180 days in the House of Corrections, all but 90 suspended for one year, fully capped. A capped plea means that, if agreed to, the judge won’t go above it and you, as the defendant, can argue for a lesser sentence. By being full capped, there would be no limit as to how low a sentence you could argue for. I know that this may seem a bit confusing, so feel free to either call or e-mail me if I have made it too confusing. If the capped plea was imposed and you earned full good time at the House of Corrections, your actual incarcerated time would be no more than 60 days.
3.) Criminal Contempt – Nolle Prosse (dismiss).
I think that this is a fair offer in that one charge is being reduced to a Class B misdemeanor, another would be dismissed, and you are being given the opportunity to argue for a lesser sentence than that I would be recommending on the third. By remanding the charge that Attorney Webb is prosecuting, you eliminate the chance that, after a jury trial, you are found guilty and given a more severe sentence by the Superior Court judge. No one knows what a jury will do, and you will be facing a fairly substantial risk, as do all defendants in a jury trial.
Finally, if you do retain an attorney and he or she wants to continue the trial scheduled for April 17th, I would assent to it. I look forward to hearing from you regarding the above offer.
Sincerely yours,
David Lauren, ACA
David Lauren
Assistant County Attorney
Cheshire County Attorney’s Office
E-mail 2: (My response to initial contact) April 11, 2012
Dear Mr. Lauren,
Thank you for writing me with your offer. I have given it some consideration, and I would like to present the following offer in response:
In exchange for dropping all other charges, I will plead nolo contendere to Resisting Arrest, Refusing to process, and Contempt. With a recommended sentence of 120 days per charge to be served concurrently, and all but 90 days suspended for one year upon the condition of good behavior, plus payment of a $500 fine to be paid with 50 hours of community service, and a pretrial confinement credit of 10 days.
PS Would you please share the above message with Mr. McLaughlin and Mr. Webb? Thank you.
E-mail 1: (Initial Contact) April 10, 2012
Dear Mr. Horton:
It was good meeting you this afternoon, and, as indicated, after having consulted with the other two prosecutors involved, I am prepared to make the following “global” resolution to all of your pending charges.
1.) On the charge that was appealed from District Court and is being prosecuted by Assistant County Attorney John Webb – Remand to Keene District Court with the original sentence remaining in place.
2.) On the charges being prosecuted by Assistant County Attorney Chris McLaughlin:
The charges are: 1.) Possession of Marijuana; 2.) Contempt (two counts); 3.) resisting arrest or detention; 4.) disobeying an officer. The offer on these would be nolle prosse (dismiss) the disobeying an officer charge, and on the remaining charges, the sentence on each charge would be identical and concurrent (served at the same time) with each other, but consecutive (to be served after) to your remanded sentence above. 360 days in the CCHOC, all but 90 days suspended for two (2) years upon the condition of good behavior. Pretrial confinement credit of seven (7)(?) days, and a mandatory $350 fine plus penalty assessment on the Possession of Marijuana charge.
3.) On the charges I am prosecuting and for which trial is scheduled for April 17th at Keene District Court:
The charges are: 1.) Criminal Trespass; 2.) Resisting Arrest or Detention; 3.) Contempt. The offer on these would to nolle prosse (dismiss) the contempt, and on the remaining two (criminal trespass and resisting arrest or detention) the sentences would be identical to that offered by Attorney McLaughlin. The sentences would be concurrent with each other, and concurrent with the time imposed on the cases being prosecuted by Attorney McLaughlin.
The 90 days stand-committed time under this global proposal would represent a 60 day period of incarceration so long as you earned the maximum period of good time at the CCHOC. Good Time is determined pursuant to the rules and regulations of the CCHOC.
In short, this resolution would resolve the pending cases that you have in both Superior Court and District Court. As you were leaving the Superior Court today, I happened to overhear your request for a financial affidavit for possible appointment of a public defender. Should you qualify and decide to have an attorney represent you, please ask the attorney to contact me as soon as possible as your next court appearance is, I believe, on the three cases I am prosecuting and trial is scheduled for Tuesday, April 17th.
Finally, do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions on this proposed global resolution.
Sincerely yours,
David Lauren
Assistant Cheshire County Attorney
Office of the Cheshire County Attorney
12 Court St.
Keene, NH 03431
dlauren@co.cheshire.nh.us
603-352-0056
Please send any e-mails with suggestions to LiveFreeOrDance (at) gmail (dot) com – Derrick J. Freeman
At the time I write this, I have stayed up all night, exhausted by the mental energy I’ve exerted negotiating via e-mail with the little boys in men’s suits who are seeking to put me in a jail cell.
I didn’t know what I was getting into when I came to Keene to be an activist. I wanted to stand on the right side of history. I wanted to live and breathe total liberty. I wanted to show the world the limitless joys their imaginations don’t permit them to envision. I wanted to be famous. I dared to dream.
Now, exactly one year after my arrival in Keene, men who call themselves “the State of New Hampshire” have intertwined themselves in my production by bringing 12 charges against me. I have lived my dream of complete freedom, and I will be punished. I can’t talk about the details of my plea negotiations yet, but I have to unburden myself of some ruminations which have kept me awake all night.
Life was never like this in Philadelphia. All I knew was work, drugs, clubs, and gays. It was all so vain, and I loved it. I miss the recklessness and debauchery of a careless existence. But though I dreamt of freedom, the overwhelming intrusion into my life by those who call themselves “the state” tugged at my heart and kept me from fully enjoying myself.
My friends tell me that if I’m landing myself in a cage, I’m doing something wrong. That I’m too bright and precious for that. That there’s no shame in acting under duress. That it’s okay to bow to power. When I was younger, I heard about the girl at Columbine who was asked by her murderer, just before she was shot, “Do you believe in God?” I was a Christian then and would stay awake at night asking myself what I would do in that situation. Would I be honest and lose my life, or would I deny my reality in order to live another day? Though I’m no longer a Christian, this question still plagues me. If following my heart gets me pepper-sprayed, chased, beaten, and caged, is it worth it?
I must humble myself in order to accept what is the reality of my world. My friends remind me that seen or unseen, I am living under duress. Attitude is everything, and whether I follow my heart or deny it to live another day, I choose to stay positive. I will persist planting seeds. My impatient nature expected overnight results. Now I see that my vision was a fantasy–that lasting change takes longer to realize.
My activism style must change if I am to persevere. The loss I am taking (of my freedom and my time) is a signal that my strategy must reflect a longer-term solution. I must lay the groundwork and be patient. I need not show others my dreams being ripped away but instead educate and inspire them to dream themselves–to challenge their own imaginations.
The future is bright, and everything’s going to be okay in the end. This is another step on the journey. In contrast to the gayborhood of Philly, I’m walking through a nightmare, but nothing great was ever achieved without great sacrifice. If I hope to partner up and live my life with a man of principle, I must be true to my own.
“I took the path less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
- R. Frost
I’m going through the toughest time I’ve experienced on earth. I’m sifting through all the court paperwork I’ve received over the last year, and it weighs about 2 lbs, literally. I somehow acquired 11 different charges against the State of New Hampshire without involving a single victim. It fills me with petrifying fear to think that each charge carries between 30-365 days.
I have 4 trials coming up in the next 2 months, and as I see it, my greatest hope is to reach out and touch the jury, connect with them, and show them that I should be free. In some cases, however, there is no jury. Sometimes times the judge is corrupt and even under investigation for impeachment.
I am doing my best to turn this into a positive learning experience from which I can benefit while also helping others. I’ve been preparing a video about the charges hanging over my head, and I’ll be sure to share it here when it is finished.
For now, dear reader, thank you for your concern. I wish I knew of a way that others can help, but this unfortunately seems to be a battle I alone must fight.
I’ll be representing myself and seeking the assistance of a public defender for the purposes of helping me negotiate with the prosecutors and to field questions about Legal Land.
Today I had court. I called up the Sheriffs office and let Trevor Croteau know that I would be coming in for my Jury Selection. When it was time to go before the judge to get ready for selection, however, the judge remarked that the date of the trial would be set for tomorrow or the next day. That was too soon for me, especially since I was incarcerated for 7 days last week. I told him that I would need more time to prepare and filed a Motion for Continuance. It was granted with no objection from “the State,” and so the trial date will be set somewhere in the upcoming months. I’ll keep this blog up to date about date changes. Thanks for your love and support in the meantime.
I value a varied approach to achieving liberty in our lifetimes. I have an expression I’ve been reminding myself for years that I call Q-TIP: “Quit Taking It Personally.” I’m all ears for feedback, and I love to receive it. Not only does it mean you’re talking about something I’m doing (50% of the win in my mind), but it means you’re offering me an opportunity to improve in an area where I may have a blind spot.
I want to grow the numbers of individuals who are willing to get active to achieve liberty in their lifetimes. I know that a key element of inspiring others is to get them talking about these issues. Whether they’re bashing or supporting, the key is to get people talking and thinking about them. If what I do is not interesting, there’s plenty of television that will entertain them.
I’ve got a lot to learn, so please keep it coming. I’ve already implemented Dale’s suggestion of doing a video intro of what I’m doing so that the audience can identify more with a person and not just see chaos. I’m glad he spoke up because it made my recent arrest video 10000x’s more relatable (going to the grocery store…minding my own business).
I’m much more effective outside of jail, so I do my very best to avoid that.
On Friday, March 30, I was kidnapped by men calling themselves the State of New Hampshire. My alleged crimes were Resisting Detention and Disobeying an Officer. Today I was released from my caging at the Cheshire County House of Corrections. Thank you to all involved in aiding in my release. I feel fortunate to live among such a supporting community of liberty lovers.
For in-depth analysis of the incident, check out the following sources who covered the story:
I filed 5 motions today at my pre-trial hearing for the Live Free Or Dance Jury Trial.
Reasons:
Motion to Dismiss
1) Violates 4th Amendment Guaranteeing I be secure in my persons and property.
2) No evidence of a proper and lawful investigation has ever been demonstrated.
3) There is no victim in this case except myself.
Motion for Dropping of Bail Conditions
1) None of my current charges, if convicted, would disqualify me from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
2) None of the alleged offenses are in any way violent, and I am and have always been a peaceful person.
3) Renders me helpless in any difficult situation in which I could otherwise defend myself.
Motion for Full Discovery
1) Relevant infomation to the incident at hand
2) including a copy of the police dispatch log,
3) audio recordings of Keene police transmissions one hour before or after the time of arrest
Motion for Witness List
1) Listed 5 witnesses, all of whom were present at the time of the alleged crimes
2) 1 is also a character witness
3) These people will speak about:
Cecelia: filming the encounter and having a brief discussion with the kidnapper, Michael Kopcha.
JJ: police activity from the ground in a wheelchair compared with my behavoir
Mark: presence at beginning of dance party, volume compared with Keene Music Festival the week before
Talley: cops arrival and lead up to arrest
Rapsher: pepper spraying
Motion for Emotion
1) John Arnold recently ordered that there be no displays of emotion in court.
2) Emotion is a natural basic expression of a living human.
3) Emotion accompanies sound argumentation about a subject which evokes passion.
A policewoman in Hollis, New Hampshire thought it was the right thing
to do to take out her pepper spray and launch it unannounced into the
eyes of peaceful 21-year-old Eric Geller, who was visiting his alma
mater to have discussions with his former professors.
In my recent interview with Eric, he says that he can’t imagine how an
imaginary entity, “The State of New Hampshire” is able to be a victim
of his peaceful actions. He also says that he feels he has the right
to stand on public property so long as he’s not hurting anyone or
getting in the way, which he says he wasn’t. Eric is facing 3
misdemeanor A charges: Criminal Trespass (being on school property),
Disorderly Conduct (being on school property), and Resisting Arrest
(going limp), and faces up to 3 years in jail plus $3,000 in fines.
His story is particularly interesting because of the recent
militarization of local police and the growing state resistance to
members of the public treating public property as if it is for public
use.
Here’s a clip from my recent interview with Eric.
Agents of the state certainly have a lot of nerve to claim that they
were acting to protect an imaginary entity, The State of New
Hampshire, and that Eric somehow insulted the peace and dignity of
this imaginary entity by peacefully standing on property for which he
is forced to pay.
It certainly has not been argued that Eric has infringed anyone else’s
rights, but how will agents of the state pay him restitution for the
harm they inflicted on him that day by attacking and caging him?
What penalties will this police woman face for her negligence and
disregard for student safety when she unnecessarily sprayed this
chemical weapon? She will claim she was protecting student safety,
but is introducing a chemical weapon which is banned by the
international rules of war into a school the way to achieve maximum
safety?
To those of you sitting on the fence about this issue: A young man
was standing on property for which his parents paid, hurting no one.
Unprovoked, a woman inflicted immense disorienting pain into his eyes
and locked him in a cage for ransom. If you wouldn’t be willing to do
these things yourself, then I posit that you have a responsibility and
an obligation to speak out against these actions. That means using
your wallet as well as your voice. If the police aren’t working for
you, don’t pay them!
Fr33 Agents Radio News is now producing video accompaniment for their episodes. This is the first episode. Enjoy and subscribe for more updates on the growing peaceful evolution happening around the globe!
Derrick J. Freeman is a peace activist dedicated to living free by helping others to live free.
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