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1/7/10
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Sentencing today in Belfast slaying Experts to testify about woman’s abuse
AP PHOTO BY JOEL PAGE
Amber Cummings
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BELFAST, Maine — Medical experts are scheduled to testify in support of Amber Cummings when she is sentenced today for the shooting death of her husband.
Cummings, 32, of Belfast, pleaded guilty in November to domestic violence manslaughter for the Dec. 9, 2008, killing of her 29-year-old husband, James G. Cummings. Cummings was shot twice in the head while he slept. The couple’s then-9-year-old daughter was in the home the morning of the shooting.
Under the terms of a plea agreement reached with the state, Amber Cummings accepted a sentence of eight years in prison with all but one year suspended and six years’ probation.
The one-year sentence is a maximum cap, and defense attorney Eric Morse of Rockland said he planned to ask Superior Court Justice Jeffrey Hjelm to suspend that part of the sentence and place Cummings on probation. He said Cummings should not be separated from her daughter at such a critical time in their lives.
The Attorney General’s Office accepted the plea after forensic examination conducted by Dr. Andrew Wish, the state’s psychiatrist, found that Amber Cummings was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and battered woman syndrome.
Morse said three therapists who have treated Cummings and her daughter since the killing also will speak at today’s sentencing hearing in Waldo County Superior Court.
He said each of the expert witnesses would explain in detail the physical, emotional and sexual abuse James Cummings subjected his wife to during their 10-year marriage. Cummings also struck his child repeatedly and instilled in both his wife and daughter a paranoid doctrine of hate and racial prejudice all the while keeping them isolated from family and the outside world, he said.
“They will emphasize that any jail time would not only have a traumatic effect on Amber, but also her daughter,” Morse said Wednesday. “Each of them have endured years of trauma and abuse and any separation of the mother and daughter in light of what they went through would only add to that. Both have endured a decade of abuse.”
Amber Cummings has been free on $50,000 bail since her indictment, and Morse said that she and her now 10-year-old daughter have made great progress in the year since the killing. Both remain in therapy and have been welcomed into the community. The daughter, whom Cummings forced his wife to teach at home, is at-tending school and learning social skills. Amber Cummings has been working part-time.
According to police reports, Amber Cummings believed that she and her daughter were to be killed by James Cummings during a terrorist attack he planned to unleash on Washington, D.C., at the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
The reports described James Cummings as an avowed racist enthralled with Adolph Hitler who had gathered explosive, radioactive and chemical components to construct a so-called dirty bomb.
Cummings told police Obama’s election angered her husband and that he planned to blow up himself and his family when he bombed the Capitol. Bomb-making materials and instructions were found in the Cummings home after his death.
Besides finding weapons and explosives, police discovered a large amount of child pornography on computers removed from the Cummings home. According to a search warrant filed with the case, 45 digital movie clips and 700 digital photographic images depicting children were uncovered on the computers. More than a half-dozen loaded handguns, a loaded 12-gauge shotgun and boxes of ammunition were among the items taken from the house. James Cummings was found dead in bed with a loaded handgun under his pillow and another in his nightstand.
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....and driving our youth and working people out of the state.
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Electra,
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No one is a phony. Our search for truth is a personal one and no one has the right to condemn it.
If the circumstances surrounding this case were precisely duplicated the only exception being it was a MAN who pumped two rounds into the head of his sleeping wife; I assure you the MAN would be heading off for prison tomorrow. This entire case reeks of sexism and is an extreme example of it.
Moreover, this ridiculous notion the woman's actions were in some way beneficial to society is irrelevant to her defense; and she SHOULD have been tried on a separate charge of vigilantism if that WAS her motive. Her motive for murder was centered on herself and her daughter. The allegation she may have incidentally killed a potential terrorist is completely irrelevant and unproven.
I do not dispute the allegations the individual she killed was a bad person. I do say, however, he was denied his 5th Amendment right to due process of law for his alleged crimes by the act of another. The outcome of this trial is a blatant statement to all that his murder was a justifiable act. Frankly, that was NOT proven.
A decade of proven abuse physical, sexual and mental and your worried about the denial of HIS rights? The fact that he had items proven to be used in the makings of a dirty bomb are not irrelevant... He was going to kill himself, his daughter and his wife... I would call this self preservation... it's past time we stopped turning a blind eye to domestic abuse... I'll grieve for his family that may or may not be missing a loved one... but for the damage he has caused to these two women and the damage he could have caused this country I'll not mourn that at all... Bravo young lady for shooting straight and taking out a domestic enemy of your country...
If the story turned out differently and James Cummings were merely accused of just a few of the things that have turned out to be fact; child porn, dirty bombs, explosives and weapons violations, plots to kill the president, most of you on here would have said "off with his head! why waste tax dollars on a trial???"
No human should be subjected to the abuse this woman received from her husband...I do not believe any human (man or woman) has that Divine right to take another human's life...I say let this woman take care of her child and get on with her life...
Domestic abuse is ignored too often! Amber did what she had to do for her and her daughter. I hope she gets to stay out of jail and continue to get the treatment that she needs and raise her daughter!
Wishing you the best of luck and a brighter future for you and your daughter, Amber.
she should get a medal, not a trail
Maine has alwways been a " kill a male for free" state. I predict probation.
I Have to agree with If this had been a Bomber on a Plane~Whomever shoot him would of Get the Medal of Honor
There IS a lesson IN all This~Don`t Abuse Women and You Have Nothing to Worry About
Not Everything IS Black and White
And THIS Is Diffidently ONE of Them
I Say Let Her GO<<<<
Probation, I hope so. She did not stand a chance against this scumbag dirty dog. A protection from abuse would not have stopped him. She did what she had too do to protect her daughter and her self. End of story.
Set her free and give her a medal. She may have saved more lives than that and that of her daughter. Good luck Amber. I hope someday you find a wonderful man who will love you and your daughter. You both deserve it.
Amber, good luck to you today. Think of the INNOCENT people she saved had he followed through with his plan, he was obviously psycho. Best of luck to her and her daughter, I hope that they can get through this and lead productive, happy lives.
Everyone who supports Amber should show up in Belfast today and support her. Lord knows she needs it.
Although, in accordance with our laws what she did was wrong. I believe Amber to be a brave and couragous person who was out of options. How could this go on for a decade? When will woman in this country have enough security and self worth not to let this happen for even on day? Hooligan it is a sad day when a man will complain about sexism. Part of being a man and not to cry and whine, but to man up and overcome.
This just goes to show that if you set out to murder someone, make sure he's a bad person and that you complete the job. Then you have a good chance of getting away with it.
Good advice Bandbox, because we all know that Nazi worshipping, bomb making abusers should be protected.LOL.
user5225 wrote:
"Hooligan it is a sad day when a man will complain about sexism. Part of being a man and not to cry and whine, but to man up and overcome."
Why is it a sad day if a man complains about sexism? Is there a double standard I was unaware of?
Let's expound a little. Is is inappropriate for a white person to complain about racism? Is there a double standard I'm unaware of?
Is it inappropriate for a person who believes unborn humans are people with rights to complain about abortion? Is there a double standard I'm unaware of?
You might consider giving some thought to your words before you post them. You make no sense.
Taltos7791 wrote:
"A decade of proven abuse physical, sexual and mental and your worried about the denial of HIS rights? "
I'm worried about every American's rights' and you should be too. If we allow the rights of others to be denied, no matter how evil they are, how long will it be before our own rights are threatened?
The strength of our society lies in it's treatment of the least among us.
Everything I know about this case is what I have read in the media. That makes me ill informed at best.
However, proceeding with what I do know, the question begs to be asked. Should the court grant MERCY to this person based on mitigating circumstances?
I tend to think so. I think the court should grant this person MERCY based on mitigating circumstances. No more, and no less.
The special interest feminist groups who tuned this into an issue of sexism; and to the socialists who turned this into justifiable homicide/vigilantism should be removed from the courtroom before sentencing.
this woman has suffered enough. the court should allow her to be free and take care of her daughter. may they both find happiness now.
'hooligan'--
The only problem with your 'opening' comment is that is irrefutable;
Did { any } one say that yours are not the facts--: H*&% No.
Were this a Dude----all you 'men' ( part of being a man ) and females would offer righteous indignation that he be castrated -- before trial.
This guy was not a nice person. The tragic ramifications for this little girl are immeasurable
There is not one of us who would wish all of this was different--but the fact is she killed him in lieu of walking out the door to the myriad of help centers/hotline Et al.
This is prejudice at it's worst---But I'm glad.
I have mixed feelings about this case, While I dont doubt this man abused Amber and that he was a bad man, I just dont like that she murdered him while he slept. I dunno it just seems like she had other options. I know that abuse can be a difficult thing to overcome and it is entirely possible that she felt if she didnt kill him he would kill her and that this was what she thought was her only option Either way I guess I hope she gets aquitted of the charges or at the least let off with a light sentance because I dont think she poses a threat to the rest of society. Best of luck to you and your daughter!
Goodbye Earl!
best of luck to amber and her daughter, may you finally put this behind you, and live a peaceful life. you,ve already been to hell and back.