Early release has been granted....

http://www.wmur.com/news/26714999/detail.html

R2B

Ward is going home!!!!!
 

JUST IN: Gov says no to full pardon, against unanimous yes from council. Commutation on the table!

Commutation, time served, no sentence over his head, goes home after processing!

Just found this
 

That works for me

Is there any chance that the felony conviction could be on "conditional discharge" pending good behavior??

Dan

Your governor is a democrat right? :laugh:

I would have to say the term LAME DUCK fits him to a tee

Bird Freed .. sentence commuted
 

Just posted online

http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/237893/bird-freed

Deeply disappointed in the Governor
 

Ward will soon be out of jail but he is still a convicted felon. As pointed out on WMUR he can't keep any guns and can't work for organizations such as the boy scouts. This is still hugely unfair.


The more that is learned about Ms. Harris the more she is recognized as a willing liar and unstable. We have only her highly unreliable story that Ward made any threatening moves with his gun. The Governor seems to be setting a standard that the possibility that the gun could have been used was a threat in itself. That is a standard that would preclude anyone from carrying a gun since even an unloaded weapon could be loaded in a few seconds. Thanks for showing your true colors Mr. Lynch.

I'm very glad that Ward can be home with his family and get on with his life. Maybe they can request a full pardon when we have a Republican Governor.

I am so happy that Ward is able to be back in his home and with his family. Thanks to all who worked to make this happen: politicians, family, friends and other concerned citizens, many like me who do not even know Ward. However, I am very unhappy that the Governor went against the unanimous recommendation of his Council and turned down the full pardon.

Perhaps he will make some sense of this in a press release, and we should give him this chance. If he does not justify his decision, my opinion is his days as Governor should be numbered.

As far as Ward, stating he does not want to be a poster person for gun rights makes sense to me. He never asked for this, he just needed to be back home.

I have never owned a gun, used them in the Army, but never owned one and likely never will. However, I totally support the right for citizens to bear arms as detailed in the amendments to the US Constitution.

Bottom line for me is Ward is free. There still might be some work to do, once we hear and understand the Governor's statement, regarding leadership of this state.

R2B

Well at least the LAME part.


Welcome home Ward.

Congratulations to all of you who worked so hard to free Ward Bird! You did a great job! I am so happy to see there is still power in the people! If enough of us common people stick together we can save our country! This proves it!

I was right! Well maybe not 90 days, but I was right on the early release as opposed to getting a full pardon. I knew the Gov wouldn't do it.:rolleye2::D
Can he go back and appeal the conviction now?

I just came inside from doing some snow removal in my yard to find all the post about Wards pardon being granted.
This is the most Awesome news I can think of hearing. :D

I hate to be the one to break this to you, but he was NOT pardoned. His sentence was commuted, he still has a felony record.

I am well aware of that thank you :)
Whether someone calls it a "pardon" or a "commuted sentence" is not important right now.
What is important is that Ward is FREE to return home to his family where he belongs.

He is going home! That is what many of us who did not know Ward, but felt he was unfairly jailed wanted. Each of us may have felt compelled to his cause because of our stance on unfair gun laws in this country, but the bottom line was that we wanted Ward Bird OUT of JAIL! This has been accomplished. He's going home to his family. Thank you all!

Hopefully, Ward Bird has learned a lesson. Yes, Ms Harris obviously has her issues but Mr. Bird could have avoided all this if he simply went into his house and called the police when she showed up. Mr. Bird's problematic past is evident by the fact that he has had the police at his house numerous times to mediate family disputes and on another occasion after a nearby party Mr. Bird was blasting away at a tree stump after numerous libations. I am glad my tax dollars are no longer paying for Mr. Bird's housing but he needs to man up and learn a little personal responsibility.

And for that you should be forever grateful!

I know, I know, it's a magazine!:laugh:

Lesson?
 

What lesson might that be?

Let's, just for a moment, assume things went down just as Ward said they did. Ms. Harris shows up on his property illegally. He goes out to tell her she is on the wrong property and should leave. When a person does something annoying or possibly illegal do you call the police first or try to talk to the person. Most of us would try to talk first rather than escalate to police involvement.

Now a rational person, after being told they were on a property illegally and asked to leave, would leave. Instead Ms. Harris is argumentative and aggressive. After trying to argue for 15 minutes Ward goes in to the house to call the police, just as you suggest.

Now totally separate from all this is the fact that he was carrying a gun. He was totally within his rights to do so. Many people walk around armed. When he went to reenter the house he checked the status of his weapon, a safety procedure.

What is the lesson? Escalate all simple disagreements to police cases immediately? Post guards and razor wire to keep crazy people off your property?

Sorry. As far as I'm concerned Ward acted reasonably. *IF* he waved a gun in Ms. Harris' face he didn't but she is the only one to say he did and she is the instigator of the problem and prolonged it beyond reasonableness. She also has a history of lying in legal situations.

Just returned from the impromptu welcoming. about 75 people gathered at the intersection of 109 & 171 to welcome Ward home as it was still snowing

The Bird family got out of their truck and walked the last 1/2 mile with well wishers on both sides of the road

Ok
 

Folks...my sincere hope is to not get sucked into any back and forth thing here. Ward is home, that's the only thing that really matters. While I never thought he belonged in jail, I also never thought he was blameless in this whole mess.
I find many of these posts indeed comical...the ones ragging on the Gov, and not satisfied because he was not granted full pardon. ARE YOU FREAKIN' FOR REAL??!!!
Everyone has been saying, Free Bird, Free Bird, Free Bird, Free Bird...and he is free...but noooooooo, now that's not enough. Christ, he's home. Enough all ready. Good for him.
So he can't pack heat anymore...ohh, the horror of it all.
He can't work with Boy Scouts...maybe unfair, but not as unfair as being behind bars.
Look, I read thru a lot of this stuff...and don't know Ward, and know Harris is off her rocker.
One thing stood out for me ...one, just one, so don't hate on me MARKNH. This is a guy (Ward) who at one time, while drinking, was part of a group firing a gun at a tree stump (so they say, anyway). And witnessed a bullet enter a near by home. And what was Ward's intial reaction (before the next day)???? To run home and do nothing. Hide, as it were. Someone could have been lying on the floor, bleeding to death. I don't care if he fired the shot or not...he saw it. This is all accurate info, according to police reports.
So let's back it down a bit. This man should probably not have been in prison...but he should probably not have guns either.
He is not blameless in this whole mess...no way, no how.
So, let's hold off on naming him Saint Ward.

Can his wife have guns?

Guilty by Karma
 

OK sa meredith let me try a story.

You walk into a bar for a drink and are sitting there minding your own business when a strange woman walks up and starts screaming at you. This goes on for a while and someone calls the police. Shortly you are at the police station and find yourself arrested for raping this woman that you have never meet before. The evidence is flimsy but the woman is emotional and certain in her accusation and a sympathetic jury finds you guilty. You are sentenced to 5 years. Because you are a model prisoner you end up with early release but you are now a convicted sex offender. It all seems so unfair.

But a former girl friend from college has told the media that the two of you got drunk one night and you had sex with her against her wishes. She didn't really say no but she was pretty out of it. So you have a history of taking advantage of women. You probably deserve the rape conviction.

And all you did was go into a bar for a drink.

Your facts are inaccurate you need to spend the rest of the day with FLL

Ok, so tell us what happened that evening that a stray shot went into the neighbors house, would you please? And how or how not Bird was involved with that?

Ok
 

Don't just post and run...it is unbecoming, and makes you look quite foolish.
Show me where my facts are wrong...if they are...then WMUR, The UL, and Citizen all got it wrong.
Let me state again...he never belonged in jail. Never.
Did he want her to see the gun, as he went back in....ABSOLUTELY!
To the untrained eye, can the action of disabling a gun's ability to fire, indeed look like it is being prepared to fire...of course.
Christ...I can't believe people are putting me in a position to get behind a woman who is of questionable mental capacity...I am not in her corner.
I just can't believe people wanted Ward out, he is out, and now, that's not enough.
Sorry...he indeed played a part in this. I understand it is his right/way of life/everyday pattern to carry. I get it...I support it...I understand it. However, if he had not gone to his gun safe, to get his gun (which he stated is what he did), before going out that day..none of this would have happened. None of it. None of it at all. But, she said she saw a gun, and he admitted he had one on his person...the combination of those two things, set the wheels in motion.
Subtract one (like maybe maybe if she said she saw a gun...be he stated all the way thru, that he never had one with him) of those two things...and her story would have come apart instantly.
How can any rational thinking person not see it this way?
I have no doubt he is a good guy, and don't think he wanted to shot her...but he absolutely wanted her to see it.
I'm out....

wait
 

Wait a minute...were you with me at North Adams State college???

Sorry to look foolish to you but I had to go back to WORK!

My understanding of the facts of 2002 is that the round was not located in the camp until sometime after Mr.Bird left the party. I am not sure weather it was before or after Mr.Bird called the MPD and stated that he was one of the people target shooting at the stump.

Your paragraph takes these facts and twist them around to help your argument.S O P

I would think that any rational person that thought about this case that Mr.bird was at home under Dr. orders to take it easy and not get to worked up was totally in his RIGHT and Ms. Harris was totally in the WRONG.

sounds like a certain super bowl quarterback!

Nobody is putting you in any position !
Don't blame other people for the choice's, decision's and opinion's that you yourself choose to make, take and stand behind.

If it makes you feel any better, I for one don't see your opinion in this situation as being in Christine Harris's corner or that your defending her actions in anyway.
I may not agree with your opinion but you are entitled to have whatever opinion you like.

I would say no. At least not on or in his premises. He would not be allowed access to the area in which they were stored. If he did it would not be actual but constructive possession which now is also normally judged illegal and subject to the same penalties (up to 10 yrs).

so...
 

I twisted no facts...I told no lies. Why the FFL comment is beyond me.
Maybe you're just an internet tough guy.
Bottom line...if he had confronted her without the gun, none...of ..this...happens. Period. Fact.
"He was home under Dr. orders to take it easy and not get worked up "...you say. So grabbing your heater is staying cool and calm? Christ almighty...do the math!

"You said he witnessed a bullet enter a home" that is Wrong. Than you went on to state that someone could have been seriously injured and he ran in order to prove your point that he is reckless.

Ward Bird's supporters number in the 1,000's Christine Harris's supporters number in the, well I guess 0 isn't really a number in this instance.

Webmaster, I am sorry to engage an individual and I will not post in this thread again.

That's too bad because

"My understanding of the facts of 2002 is that the round was not located in the camp until sometime after Mr.Bird left the party. I am not sure weather it was before or after Mr.Bird called the MPD and stated that he was one of the people target shooting at the stump."

is really vague on several points and I was hopeing you would qualify that.

He's home with his family. Let it rest.:)

I saw Mr Bird at Ridgewood picking kids up from Nordic practice, I gave him a thumbs up which was promptly returned. I am very happy that he has rejoined his family.

At least his next step in the legal process will be done from the outside.

What is incredibly pathetic is that people will not let this thread or issue die... Ward is home with his family which is what I thought was the point of the whole thread and bandwagon.

Now we have certain people posting (here and other places) that the governor is weak (using a term that is acceptable) because he didn't provide Ward with a full pardon... I will bet that you don't know what the term of "Criminal Threatening" is... The governor did more than he should have IMO in this case; as he brought up 3 levels of court found or upheld the original conviction, why should he overturn it?

Neither person in this case has a clear background; the only reason why his lawyer would state that he would put Ward on the stand now is because he didn't earlier and lost!

It is incredible to read the BS provided on here and other sites about what was testified to against Ward; "He did run to the end of the porch with the gun." (pg. 149. ln 8) this can happen folks from a person with stitches/staples/surgery etc.. no jumping etc as originally reported. The jury was NOT told to believe that he 'ran' or 'chased' her... That quote is the statement made to the jury to take home... It was 2 years.... You tell me who won the superbowl on spot 2 years ago..

For all the supports; Ward is home, end you battle, you "hero" is home... For all those against, I suggest you move on as there is really nothing more that can or will be done.

Everyone needs to learn that they can disagree and move on...

My suggestion is to close the thread and move on...

Well it is quite clear what you disagree with from the sarcastic tone of your post. If your so displeased with Wards release and the continuation of this thread, don't read it any more, feel free to take your own suggestion and Move on.
I certainly won't miss your 2 cents worth.