Comments by Debra Anderson Whitley | Eastern North Carolina Now

Comments by Debra Anderson Whitley

Cutting off one's nose to spite one's own face" is an expression used to describe a needlessly self-destructive overreaction. To do someone that is meant to harm someone else but also harms the person who does it. Don't cut off your nose to spite your own face" is a warning against acting out of pique, or against pursuing revenge in a way that would damage oneself more than the object of one's anger.

There are some Republicans seeking to cast a revenge vote and now going to vote on the democrat ticket because their candidate lost in the primary. Now casting a vote for a candidate of the party of Biden, Pelosi , Schumer, Roy Cooper and our local democrat leaders out of revenge. You know no matter who loses as those in the primary, whether it be Rogerson or Hammonds their lives will continue on as ours will. To cast a revenge vote is “cutting off your nose to spite your own face”.

Revenge is sweet they say for only a short time while the consequences will effect us for years.
Commented: Friday, October 7th, 2022 @ 11:19 am By: Debra Anderson Whitley
Stan Deatherage I would encourage your readers to look up the interview on the internet with Fox News! They report we decide. I am a conservative Republican and I support the core values of the Republican Party!
Commented: Thursday, April 2nd, 2020 @ 1:58 pm By: Debra Anderson Whitley
I would like to comment on one of the questions in this poll regarding HB 370.

Speaking of left wing dreams we have a sheriff of Beaufort County that said on Fox News it’s a sheriffs right to hold or not hold a criminal illegal for ICE. He guesses they the sheriffs are doing what’s in their heart he said. I say A sheriff’s right over the safety and welfare of the citizens of this county, our state, our country they are to serve and protect?? Isn’t that in direct contrast on what Trump is doing? Absolutely!! Trump called out Cooper for vetoing the bill and our sheriff saying it’s a sheriffs right! What is going on here?
Side note- as of now holding criminal illegals for ICE is a request to the sheriffs- the N.C. state representatives voted and passed a bill called HB 370 requiring sheriffs to hold criminal illegals for ICE and not release them back on the streets and in our counties. The democrat governor vetoed it. And this was our sheriffs response. He didn’t stand against Cooper vetoing the bill instead he said its a sheriffs right to not hold them. It’s on Fox News video. You can look it up! Unbelievable and wrong!!!
And might I add as long as this is only a request let’s say a criminal illegal is released back on the street by a sheriff that saids he will work with ICE although just a request and he releases a criminal illegal back on the street that commits another crime perhaps of a violent nature. The sheriff can then say well it was only a request and he slipped through by accident. I didn’t have to hold them. It’s not a thou shalt it’s only a request!!
A sheriffs right over the safety of the citizens of our county. Need I say more? Something is not right!!!
Commented: Thursday, April 2nd, 2020 @ 1:56 pm By: Debra Anderson Whitley
February 17,2020

As much as we wanted to call, we could not! It is against the law. It is policy.

This is not an exact quote as we don’t recall word for word but this is what we were told
by the sheriff’s jail Lt. Kathryn Bryan with Chief Deputy Rose present also. This was in May 2017.

We asked Chief Deputy Rose if he would get us a copy of that law. He said he would. He never did.

He would even tell the county attorney at a later time he had given us a copy of the law or policy.
But that was not true either.

But looking back how could he have given us a copy of a law that didn’t exist?

We had gone to them for help. We even told them that day we were on a mission to try to make sure this didn’t happen to another inmate and their family. We did not know the laws or who was responsible for calling but we wanted to try to see this didn’t happen again and to find out who was responsible for calling.

After that meeting and being told they could not call Cory’s emergency contacts we would contact and visit officials with Vidant hospital.

We knew we had to find out what had gone so terribly wrong. No other family or their loved one should go through this.

From there and moving forward looking for answers and making endless contacts with many other agencies we would find out in time that there was no such law to support what we were told by Bryan and Rose.

We found out what they had been telling us from the very beginning was not the truth.

So we ask ourselves why would or could they so easily be untruthful to us and why?

Again while looking us straight in our faces, and we were so very emotional that day, tell us as much as they wanted to call us they could not. It was the law.

No they were not telling us the truth!

The sheriff made a decision on those two days. He made a conscious decision. He could not have been following any law. There is no law prohibiting him from calling an inmates emergency contacts.

So we continued on.

Then in 2019 as we continued to search for answers the sheriff told us that he did not want to call and he did not have to call!

Because he didn’t want to call and he didn’t have to call? Yes he said that.
But why or wouldn’t he want to call?

You know a young man in your custody has been admitted to ICU with pneumonia and sepsis and you have their emergency contact number and you tell the family you didn’t want to call, you didn’t have to call.

That is not a reasonable nor is it an acceptable answer.

A decision not supported by the law. Not supported by ethics. Not supported by humanity? Not supported by doing the right thing. Not supported by anything.

Why would he not call the emergency contacts given by Cory for just such emergencies?

Inmates are asked for emergency contacts, not just here in Beaufort County but all over the country, there are medical and ethical reasons for this, and the inmates are told these are the ones that we will contact for you in case of serious illness or injuries.

Why do or would they tell inmates this if they can’t call? There is no logic there.

Or
if we are to believe what the sheriff has told us that (he didn’t want to call Cory’s emergency contacts that he didn’t have to call)

Shouldn’t they be telling the inmates in Beaufort County when they ask them for their emergency contacts that this means we will call your emergency contacts if the sheriff decides he wants to.
That he doesn’t have to call but if he decides he wants to call he will but if he doesn’t want to call he will not.

Does that sound right to anyone? Again is that logical?

These are some of reasons we knew something was missing from Cory’s story. There was no logic behind what we were being told.

There are so many things that just doesn’t add up. It makes no sense at all. Why would we be told something not true from the very beginning with their stories continuing to change.

Something is so very wrong here.

We are thankful for those that will listen as sometimes it just has to be put in words, these things we know to be the truth.
We have and are living this.
If we were not I too may find it hard to believe. But I tell you this is the truth.
We have been living this since May 8,2017.

The sheriff said he would do the same thing all over again.

We seek truth, accountability and justice for Cory and for others so this will not happen to another family and their loved one.

As from the beginning we are thankful for your prayers and support.💙
Commented: Tuesday, February 18th, 2020 @ 8:39 am By: Debra Anderson Whitley
This is happening too many times across this country. We are thankful to see responsibility and accountability being acknowledged and changes being made.
However here in Beaufort County,N.C. that is not the case. Cory Anderson died while in custody of the Beaufort County Sheriff Ernie Coleman in May of 2017. We have been searching for answers and asking for change and justice for almost three years now. We need the truth as to why Cory’s emergency contacts were not called. The sheriff did not notify Cory’s emergency contacts. As of July 2019 the sheriff in a conversation with a family member said he would do the same thing all over again. This is wrong! He has acknowledged no responsibility. There must be change. The Sheriff saying that there is not a thou shalt call policy or I didn’t want to call should not be acceptable to anyone. This is an absolute wrong. We must have change here in Beaufort County. These are our loved ones, your loved ones or a friend or neighbors loved one. We will keep standing up for what’s right. It gets no easier. We pray for truth, justice and change here in Beaufort County, N.C. We will keep standing for Cory and others and their families.

images.app.goo.gl
Commented: Friday, January 31st, 2020 @ 10:59 am By: Debra Anderson Whitley
I was struck by the statement the sheriff of Beaufort County made regarding criminal illegals being released back on the streets in N.C. The sheriff said on Fox News on August 26th that his detention center is complying with HB 370 but he went on to say - We’re not admonishing these few sheriffs who don’t, believe it or not it is their right, there is no law saying they can’t they feel I guess in their heart they’re doing the right thing and we’ll move on.
This was about the same as he told me about not notifying Cory’s emergency contacts. It was his choice to make and he choose not to call and let Cory’s family know he was seriously ill and in ICU. Why would he make such an inhumane decision? We will continue forward to find out why he made that decision. It does not stop there.
Now back to the statement the sheriff made about ICE and working with them.
You can view the video.
I do not agree with the statement by the sheriff. It should not be about the rights of a sheriff it should be about the safety, welfare and the protection of the people they all took an oath to serve and protect.
It is because of mindsets like this that we need to have our leaders in Raleigh override the veto of HB370
I have made an inquiry. We all need to contact House Speaker Tim Moore and ask him to put HB 370 on the calendar to try and override the governor’s veto. The Speaker is the only one that can put it on the calendar. As of now it is not on the calendar. I do not understand why not. We must reach out. This is about the welfare, safety and protection of our families.
Commented: Friday, September 20th, 2019 @ 2:43 pm By: Debra Anderson Whitley
As I was writing my previous comment this morning I would find I was being contacted from someone I do not know but he had become aware of our story. He was telling me about his experience in the Beaufort County detention center. I will say he is reaching out in hopes of change. There are many things that are substandard to say the least. In our exchanges he would tell me that when he was being processed in the detention center he was asked to provide emergency contacts. He would say he was told one thing an emergency contact is used for was notification if admitted to the hospital.

Now we know with no doubt they are very aware at the Beaufort County detention center about notification but yet the jail Lt. Kathryn Bryan accompanied by Chief Rose would say it was against the law to call emergency contacts. What is the whole story of Cory and the reason they lied to us from day one? Cory was told his emergency contacts would be called. His emergency contacts would be told the sheriff could not call. It was against the law.

Cory would never know his parents were never called. This is unethical, undignified and inhumane treatment. Cory was not treated as my, your fellow human being. He was treated as no more than a piece of crumbled paper. The more I learn the more painful this gets. I am so thankful for this opportunity to tell the truth about what is taking place here in Beaufort County and for others that are speaking up. The sheriff has been given the opportunity to speak out here on BCN. He has not! What can he say?
Commented: Thursday, September 12th, 2019 @ 11:16 am By: Debra Anderson Whitley
Thank you We will continue forward to find out why Cory’s family, his emergency contacts were not notified. The Sheriff has said he did not want to call and there is no Thou shalt call. That in itself is so wrong and beneath standards but it does go deeper than that. As we are discovering Everyday we are getting closer to finding out the truth as to why the sheriff of Beaufort County did not want Cory's parents to see Cory.

There was an underlying reason, I have listed the notification standard. It is part of the Core jail standards that are taught. 1Core 4D-06, American Correctional Association. This is just one of many places this information can be found. Again I go back To when we were not told the truth from the very beginning. We were told in that first conversation - as much as we wanted to call it is against the law.

I remember thinking at that very moment you take information from all inmates one being their emergency contacts and then you say it’s against the law to call them. That defines common sense. Why were we deceived from the very beginning? Their story has kept changing now over a period of two plus years. We will not we can not stop. Cory died so much sorrow so many questions and we get untruths. Why? How can we stop.? We can not. We are thankful for those reaching out to help us.

The truth will not remain hidden.
Commented: Thursday, September 12th, 2019 @ 9:08 am By: Debra Anderson Whitley
To know of wrong doing and to support it well that is something each individual will have to resolve in their own conscious. For us to know of wrong doing and not speak up was never an option in our minds, hearts and conscious. For anyone to think this is easy. It is not. It is terribly difficult. I personal feel I am living two different lives. For any one that knows me would know this is very difficult for me. I have never in my 65 years of life seen or personally witnessed this type of misbehavior of this nature. This has been and continues to be a real struggle. We have been intimated, threatened to be locked up by the sheriff himself when no crime has been committed and we still feel and are being intimidated and even at times feeling unsafe. It is not only our duty and responsibility because of the love and loss of our loved one but it is also our duty and responsibly to try to prevent this from happening to anyone else. We never had any idea it would lead to this. There is so so much we have been told from the very beginning. It was after our initial conversation with the chief and jail Lt. that we would find out they had not been truthful with us. In that first meeting we told the chief and The jail Lt. That we We there to find out what the laws where. Who was to call Cory's emergency contacts? We did not know. We did not know the laws. We depended on them to inform us and direct us that we wanted to make sure to work for change and accountability so this did not happen to another inmate and family. The chief even said it is more than the law, the law is the minimal he said, it was doing the right thing he said. I can hear him now.

I had realized from the moment I entered that hospital room that day that something had gone terribly wrong. Why had Cory's family not been notified of his serious condition to be with him. It was one of those images you see that you can never un-see. It still brings immediate tears to my eyes.

We would ask in that first meeting with the chief and jail Lt. why was Cory's emergency contacts not called? What was the emergency contacts they had from Cory used for and how could Cory's daddy get Cory's records medical detention records.

Those are questions we asked that day. From those questions what we have experienced over the past two plus years now I sometimes can find no words. I only know no one with this kind of behavior should hold the office of sheriff. He has failed the oaths he took. His behavior is beneath that of the badge he wears, beneath the office of a sheriff. Do I find any pleasure in saying that? I most certainly do not. However it is the truth. We are living it. We know. We had and continue to have no choice but to speak up for truth, justice and accountability. We can not be silent to wrong doing.
Commented: Tuesday, September 10th, 2019 @ 8:52 am By: Debra Anderson Whitley
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