Later, at a campaign rally, Lt. Governor Kerry Healey continued the barrage of attacks over Adams previous dealings with the British Soldiers.
Do we want a Governor who will defend murderers? Do we want a Governor who fights and succeeds in letting these cold-blooded killers walk the streets free? I may not have spent one second in a courtroom my entire life, but I have a PhD in Criminology, and I know the difference between being soft on crime, and standing up for the victims of crime!, Healey exclaimed. Where does John Adams get off defending the rights of the accused? Healey asked the audience, Doesnt this man care about victims of crime? Does he not understand the tremendous pain those five families of those murdered colonials dealt with after being so savagely gunned down by those soldiers? Healey went on to say, my friends and fellow citizens, it is clear through John Adams decisions earlier in his career that he does not care one bit about the average Joe like you and me, all he is concerned about is letting admitted killers roam the streets free.
When reached for comment, the Adams campaign released the following statement:
The remarks by the Lt. Governor and her staff show a basic misunderstanding of the way our legal system works in this country. The criminal justice system in this commonwealth, and by extension the entire country, affords numerous protections to those accused of crimes, no matter how heinous those crimes may be. The reasoning for this is not because the state is insensitive to the pain and suffering of the victims of crime, but because the accused, at every step in the process is him or herself vulnerable to abuses of state prosecutorial power. So in order to better guarantee that the right person meets justice, every defendant has the right to competent counsel, has the right to a fair trial, and has the right to be judged by a jury of his peers. These rights are laid out perfectly clear in both the United States Constitution, and the Massachusetts Constitution, of which John Adams was the author.
Later, Healey campaign Tim OBrien manager dismissed the Adams campaign statement saying, The Massachusetts Constitution is an irrelevant document since it was written by John Adams. When writing it he clearly intended to coddle criminals, that piece of garbage that he calls a Constitution is just further proof that John Adams is soft on crime. Concluded Kerry Healey campaign manager Tim O Brien.
