Is Ward Bird a gun-toting criminal nutcase or a citizen defending his property against an intruder?
According the both the Carroll County (New Hampshire) Superior Court and the state Supreme Court, he's a criminal.
The case, in which Bird was accused of criminal threatening, pits the rights of gun carrying homeowners against criminal statutes that could easily see them prosecuted and convicted for protecting their property. Bird was convicted of threatening his accuser after the women drove on to his property and to the front of his house despite numerous No Trespassing signs posted along the edge of his property and along his driveway.
I have to ask this: What part of No Trespassing did this woman not understand? The 'No' part or the 'Trespassing' part?
What makes this case more controversial is that Bird had never been in trouble with the law before this incident while his accuser had a criminal history. Even more tragic, the presiding judge in the criminal trial wanted Bird to have minimal incarceration (30 days) in the county jail and then work release or home confinement. But the law tied his hands and the Department of Corrections said Bird has to serve a minimum of two years of his mandatory seven year sentence before he's eligible for release. He'll be serving his time in the state prison.
Quite a few people believe there has been a miscarriage of justice and that Bird should be pardoned. Count me as one of them.
