Paul Hawkins is a Crown Prosecutor in New Brunswick.  He's the man bringing charges against Lawrence Manzer for the "crime"  of standing on his front porch with his unloaded shotgun while he watched his neighbour, Brian Fox, apprehend one of the drunken little jerks that had been vandalizing their neighbourhood for months.

Originally Hawkins charged Brian Fox with assault, but he eventually dropped that charge.

What is fascinating to watch from a distance is Hawkins' record when it comes to actual criminals like 18-year-old Wayne Heighton,  who burned down Royal Canadian Legion #93 just for kicks.  Instead of proceeding with arson charges against Heighton, Paul Hawkins dropped the arson charge in favour of a misdemeanor "mischief" charge.

Yeah, that ought to teach the Wayne a lesson or two...

That seems a little ridiculous to me.  This little puke destroyed Legion Hall #93 and all the priceless memorabilia inside it, for kicks.  The very least he should pay for that crime is a few years of his life in prison, but not according to Crown Prosecutor Paul Hawkins.  That's just too harsh!

As I wrote last week, I wonder where the arsonist was the night another Legion hall was burned to the ground?  Hawkins certainly didn't provide any incentive NOT to re-offend, that's for sure.

I'm not saying the same guy did it.  I have no idea.  I'm just saying it might be interesting to find out where he was that night, that's all.

Paul Hawkins would probably think that's unfair of me though.

What about the case of Cory John Hamstead?

This guy stole a motorcycle on Sunday, a woman's jewelry on Monday and then he stole a Department of Transportation (DOT) truck later that afternoon!

In Hamstead's case, Paul Hawkins withdrew charges of breaking & entering and theft of the motorbike when Hamstead pled guilty to stealing the truck from the DOT.

I guess the property of private businesses just isn't that important... or at least that's the message *I* get from Hawkins' actions in that case.  Government property is worthy of criminal charges, private property is not.

Next on my personal Paul Hawkins Hit Parade is the case of a 16-year-old male Cadet who sexually assaulted two 14-year-old girls at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown.  Hawkins had to drop all charges against this young sex offender because Hawkins apparently couldn't get his act together.

Naturally Hawkins' office blames the military for the screwup, but since the charges were criminal and not military, Hawkins and his office bear full responsibility for this young sex offender getting a full pass.

The parents of the girls are horrified as any thinking person can understand.  The mother of one of the girls, who cannot be identified to protect her daughter's identity said,

"I just want justice for her."

She won't get it.

Master Cpl. Jim Rose, the National Investigation Service (NIS) investigator in the case said there were grounds to charge the offender and handed his files over to the Crown, including his list of potential witnesses.

"The Crown attorney failed in an adequate time to provide a list of witnesses to be subpoenaed for the trial."

That responsibility falls on the shoulders of one Crown Attorney, Paul Hawkins.  He failed and now two young girls will see justice denied and a sex offender go free, all because Hawkins apparently wasn't willing to do his job.

Last on my list is the case of Hawkins' Hit Parade is David Tyng Little.  Little's estranged wife had a restraining order against him.  She feared for her safety.  In January, David Little was found guilty pf violating that restraining order and was, for reasons beyond my comprehension, given a conditional discharge.

That left an assault charge against him as a result of a December 13, 2010 assault on his estranged wife.

He pled not guilty.  Minutes before his trial was to get underway, Paul Hawkins withdrew the assault charge and asked for and received a 12-moth peace bond and a $1,000 surety instead.

It's fantastic to know that Crown Attorney Paul Hawkins takes the safety of women, indeed of our entire society, so lightly.

I guess it's just easier for him to press forward with asinine charges against Lawrence Manzer, a military veteran stuck with having to do the RCMP's job for them because they won't show up, than it is for Crown Attorney Paul Hawkins to actually hold sex offenders, wife beaters, thieves and arsonists to account.

No wonder our Canadian Justice System is held in such a laughing stock for Canadians.