14th Amendment – Court rules prone restraint is reasonable

 A judge has dismissed the criminal case against a Chambersburg caretaker who allegedly sat on a man with Down syndrome until he died.

Joseph Easton, 39, had been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Sept. 9 death of Timothy Smith, 37. During a preliminary hearing this morning, Magisterial District Judge David Hawbaker decided there was not enough evidence for the case to proceed.

Easton was one of two caretakers employed by Person Directed Supports who were with Smith the day he died in his Guilford Township home, which was owned and operated by the agency.

According to testimony, Smith was restrained face-down on the floor after he charged at Easton and clawed at his eyes. A PDS trainer testified that the restraint Easton was incorrect, and that he had been taught not to use such a method.

Easton’s lawyer, David Keller, argued that the restraint was in fact a “measured reaction” to Smith’s behavior.

Translation

A person’s legal right to self-defense and right to come to the defense of another child or adult anywhere in the  United States using reasonable and proportionate force in accordance with a “reasonable person” standard is a legal regardless of whatever policy is in place by the entity or institution.    Any restriction of a person’s right to self-defense or defense of another is in violation of a persons’ right to life and liberty which includes a person’s right to protect one’s life and liberty as provided for in amendments 5 and 14 of the United States Constitution.

Chalk one up for the U.S. Constitution as upheld by Judge David Hawbaker.

http://www.publicopiniononline.com/localnews/ci_17561412

 

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