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Image provided by: Guilderland Public Library
w i r J' S&&^t+*-j.-A ^~ft&. i.«u_..;.; j., ££. 2^^u -4^ wiJi^ii^-v ^^. jj^rXL+rl «f. --\~ > ^ jfi-^ T i({-a*t«(i6,». ^\#^^^w^^^ : *. t ^ [.fiA.'n^Ai-i'iJ'fci II TJjje Altamont Enterprise -, iT/lmrgriff» Septem^$r t 21,2006, Guilderlaiul is safer v ' with Hashim behind bars To the Editor: In last week's Enterprise, the article describing Hashim Bun- nell's murder conviction of my son Todd Pianowski did not accurately portray the excellent job done by the Guilderland and State Police. It was a very difficult investigation and the manpower to accomplish their job was thorough and lengthy. Hashim Burnell's testimony consisted of outright lies in an attempt to set himself free. The jury saw through Hashim and the defense attorney's attempt to put doubt in the known, facts of the investigation. I, can assure you that the town of Guilderland is safer now that Hashim Burnell will possibly be spending the rest of his life behind bars. The reference made by Annie Burnell (Hashim's grand- mother) that \They had him convicted already\ is not true. The jury was instructed by Judge Herrick to put aside any opinions until after the whole case was presented. The laws were explicitly described by Judge Herrick and the jury deli- berated approximately 11 hours to reach their decision. The jurists took their duty seriously as citizens of our state and country. In the \Locked in court\ article, it was stated that Layern Burnell (Hashim's mother) moved Hashim from Queens, N.Y. to a relatively low-drug affluent suburban school district. Does she blame the school district for her son's troubles? Her own son admitted to sel- ling marijuana and cocaine. Hashim Burnell, a convicted felon and murderer, is no longer wandering the streets of the Capital District area. We can all sleep a little better knowing Guilderland is a bit safer now. I'd like to thank the Guilder- land Police, New York State Police, Guilderland Emergency Medical Services, Albany Coun- ty Court System, the jurors selected at the trial, and other people that provided the Pia- nowski and Parker families with support, sympathy, and justice: Ronald Pianowski Guilderland THE IROM WORKS =<§=a An Execute Go£fi Caifrte Area '$ Newest Golf Course! w Designed to Improve Your Game *- Ready for leagues and special events! . Rent the entire golf course by the hour $7 for 9 holes • $10 for 18 holes Carts $5 per person per 9 holes OCC JICCO 884 Schoharie Turnpike JD0-H5DZ Duanesburg, New York 12056 Mohawk Power Systems Are the storms keeping you in the dark? Our Automatic House Generator can keep on the lights! Xhe Guardian is an automatic generator that produces your own electricity, as soon as it senses a power outage. 7kw Generator with, installation only $2595! GUARDIAN' by Generac Power Systems, Inc. Call 518-895-2884, Fax 518-895-2886 www.mohawkpowersystetns.com I^bhawk Power Systems is an authorized Generac Dealer for Sales, Maintenance and warranty |g are an open forum for our community Thel We encpur^gere^fler^^ exjpress their thoughts about issues that ^j^^in ; '^^°'^^^^^£inect the community Letters should be words) and must include 1;he writer's for^venfication The editors may reject i^tte||j|i|k|tMjre, beei> printed elsewhere Letters concerning elections '^f^^|vc$f one issue before the election /^\ M 0 at the editB^^sciiQlidn, No unsigned letters, Deadline for letferig is Tuesday at noon. Burnell's defense was based on illusion To the Editor: Paul Edwards, the lawyer ap- pointed to defend Hashim Burnell in the murder trial your paper reported on last week, did an excellent job considering what he ha d to work with. Johnnie Cochran couldn't have accomplished more of an illu- sion. As good as Mr. Edwards was, the jury realized it was all smoke and mirrors. The real killer is not out there; he's where he should be and will be for his entire natu- ral life and beyond. The criminal justice system is a complicated process with heavy burdens for • the people and, in all cases, there exists a large shield of protections for the accused. This shield in \a perfect, world is intended to protect the wrongly accused, a just cause. Unfortunately, to protect the few from great injustice, a ma- jority of rightly accused are granted great benefit. A good saying, heard often is, \Our criminal justice system is the worst, the exception being all the others.\ The following are just some of the illusions the defense at- tempted to create in an effort to vigorously defend his client, along with the actual truths. The first area of attack for most defense attorneys are the investigators, the police, the prosecution. They are always supposedly incompetent. In the age of CSI, Law and Order, etc., attorneys know most juries ini- tially have a false perception of what reality is. The truth is, most public ser- vants are hard-working, diligent, average Joes and Janes, like most of us; few are Gil, Grissoms. Only on TV is law enforcement awarded unlimited resources and only on TV does a day have a 1,000 hours. The Guilderland Police Department, the State Police, and the district attorney's office all performed their jobs almost without flaw. A job well done. Thank you very much. Burnell never admitted he had been in the apartment 15 times, he claimed he had been there 15 times. The truth is, Burnell had never been in that apartment prior to that day. He only knew the whereabouts of the apart- ment because two of his criminal cohorts had. The truth is his fin- gerprints were left there on the only day he was ever in the apartment, the day of the mur- der. Your reporter, . Mr. Carroll, misquoted Assistant District Attorney Bruce Lennard as having said Todd [Pianowski] bought drugs from Burnell — false. In the extensive investiga- tion by police, the following is a more accurate description and characterization of these two young men, as determined by investigators. Todd is a small time mari- juana dealer who sold to his cir- The truth is, almost every- thing claimed by Burnell, as your reporter in an effort to pre- sent a balanced account of the trial reported, were proven false during the trial. Other than Burnell's father's short .testi- mony and Burnell's version of \Story Time,\ the majority of the defense's case was presented during opening and closing ,ar-. guments where the restrictions of fact are loosened and replaced with a plate full of suggestion, speculation, an d distortions. Only on TV is law enforcement awarded unlimited resources and only on TV does a day have 1,000 hours. cle of friends. In the immediate hours following the murder, many of Todd's friends, associ- ates, and my daughter, Lauren, gave full disclosure about all of Todd's dealings, even at the risk of exposing their own wrongdo- ings, in an effort to help the po- lice figure out why this senseless and horrific murder occurred. The conclusion was that Todd bought and sold marijuana only. No other kind of drug or evi- dence of anything other than pot was ever discovered. Todd pur- chased his pot from a couple of individuals, who had no connec- tion to Hashim Burnell. Burnell is a gangsta want-to- be. A small-time drug dealer and prolific thief, whose victims were almost exclusively from within his own circle of acquain- tances. His recent stint in state prison was the result of his re- peated arrests for breaking in and robbing the homes of his own friends and their families. The police had difficulty finding anyone who knew Burnell, who didn't suspect or know Burnell had stolen from them, or at the very least owed them money. A criminal mastermind by no stretch of the imagination, he was simply a gangsta want-to- be with a psychopathic personality with apparently no evidence of any presence of a conscience or remorse. The jury clearly and correctly saw fact from fiction and rightly convicted. As good as Mr. Cop- perfield, excuse me, I mean Mr. Edwards was, the jury sa w through the illusions presented. Our greatest thanks and deepest appreciation go out to the 12 men and women, who during the courageous course of their civic duty, provided Todd, Lauren, Todd's family, and our community the justice owed. Of course, appeals are ex- pected due to the luxury of our tax dollars, but unlikely to be granted because of excellent ju- rist guidance of Judge Stephen Herrick. Thank you, your Honor, and thank you again to everyone who worked very hard and who continue to work diligently to keep the wheels of justice moving. Kelly Parker Guilderland Editor's note: Kelly Parker is the father of Todd Pianowski's girlfriend. Pianowski was mur- dered in the Guilderland apart- ment he shared with Lauren Parker, and last week Hashim Burrell was found guilty of murder and robbery. The Enterprise's coverage of the, trial and conviction was accurate. October 9th-13th CALL 456-3100 today to schedule your appointment! During this special week, we will be offering FREE OF CHARGE for all school employees o Complete Chiropractic Exams o Chair massage by appointment o Nutritional consultation 2558 Western Avenue Spinal Health Center M -^:tO>:C^|iWlIj)l^t9^| /...• 1 7. •/»/ aUlXOEHLAHD »••-• '
