Senator Leahy Describes Shooting
Senator Patrick Leahy, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Leahy said the following about the killing, as part of a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Vermont, like every State, has witnessed wrenching examples of the effects of mental illness. Last December, Robert Woodward, a mentally ill man, interrupted services at All Souls Church in West Brattleboro, Vermont, threatened to kill himself, and, armed with a knife, charged three Brattleboro Police officers who had responded to calls from the scene. The officers were forced to shoot Mr. Woodward (who died later that day) to protect themselves and the others in the church. (Vermont's Attorney General has cleared the officers of any charges of wrongdoing.) The effect of this tragic incident on those officers, the witnesses who simply set out to spend a Sunday morning in church, and the family of Mr. Woodward defies words, and it would behoove us to do what we can to prevent such situations before they occur.
It appears that Senator Leahy's only exposure to the shooting has been through Attorney General Sorrell's report. Leahy's summary exemplifies the success Sorrell has enjoyed thus far in misrepresenting the killing. Letters to Senator Leany from the following persons, attempting to persuade Leahy to evaluate the veracity of his statements in light of the evidence and consider revising them accordingly, have thus far gone unanswered.