John Adams must be rolling over in his grave. The great founding father from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts once said, "We are a government of laws, not of men." Today, it seems that some of his Bay State successors have all but forgotten Adams' words. Perhaps most neglectful of the rule of law is Superior Court Judge Timothy Feeley. His latest legal rulings have been so egregious that Massachusetts state legislators and hundreds of concerned citizens
are calling for his impeachment. The Commonwealth's Gov. Charlie Baker even weighed in on the subject. Judge Feeley's wisdom, or lack thereof, in recent months has let a cop killer, a heroin kingpin, and a sexual predator roam the streets after proving to be public threats. Why did Judge Feeley let these men go? In short, because he felt like it.
Yesterday, 200 people rallied outside the Ruane Judicial Center in Salem, MA to protest Feeley's decision regarding convicted drug dealer Manuel Soto-Vittini. The rally, organized by local radio talk show host Jeff Kuhner, came a week after Massachusetts representative Jim Lyons filed a resolution to impeach Judge Feeley. For Rep. Lyons, Judge Feeley's ruling on Soto-Vittini was the last straw.
Manuel Soto-Vittini was arrested in June 2015 after police found 40 bags of heroin hidden in various departments in his car. According to Salem Police, Soto-Vittini was not a small time crook.
He was a central figure in the Salem drug trade. This drug trade led to
21 deaths in Salem directly from opioids like heroin in 2017. That number pales in comparison to the 2,016 who died from opioid overdoses bought by addicts purchased from criminals such as Soto-Vittini through out last year.
Comment: See also: Chuck it in the bin: UK police offer 'amnesty' for surrendering knives