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<strong>in</strong>herited from her mo<strong>the</strong>r, and a couple of cherished hand-sewn quilts, but <strong>the</strong> real damage went deeper.<br />
All Patterson wanted from her cab<strong>in</strong> was a place to escape <strong>the</strong> pressures of daily life, and Knight denied her<br />
that. “I couldn’t leave my w<strong>in</strong>dows open, I couldn’t even go and sit by <strong>the</strong> beach without worry<strong>in</strong>g,” she said.<br />
“He stole every bit of my piece of heaven.”<br />
“If someone needed food,” said Mary H<strong>in</strong>kley, a victim of dozens of break-<strong>in</strong>s, “I would give <strong>the</strong>m food.<br />
Just ask. But we were <strong>in</strong>vaded, completely <strong>in</strong>vaded. I always feared he’d come <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> night, when my<br />
grandchildren were <strong>the</strong>re. I despise this person. I’m ashamed I feel this way, but I do. I can’t th<strong>in</strong>k of<br />
anyth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> my life I’ve been so bitter about.”<br />
If Knight really wanted to live <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> woods, many said, he should’ve done so on public lands, hunt<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
fish<strong>in</strong>g for food. And how was anyone supposed to know he wasn’t armed and dangerous? Even a s<strong>in</strong>gle<br />
break-<strong>in</strong> can be punishable by a ten-year prison sentence. Knight was noth<strong>in</strong>g but a lazy man and a thief<br />
times a thousand. He should be locked up <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> state penitentiary, perhaps for life.<br />
<strong>The</strong> person who was go<strong>in</strong>g to decide what punishment, if any, to seek aga<strong>in</strong>st Knight was Maeghan<br />
Maloney, <strong>the</strong> district attorney. Maloney grew up <strong>in</strong> Ma<strong>in</strong>e, <strong>in</strong> a blue-collar family, liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> subsidized<br />
hous<strong>in</strong>g. She was <strong>the</strong> valedictorian of her high school class and won a scholarship to Harvard Law. She’d<br />
heard public op<strong>in</strong>ion on Knight—free him now, <strong>in</strong>carcerate him forever—and she, too, was conflicted. “In a<br />
lot of ways,” said Maloney, “<strong>the</strong> law is not set up for an outlier case like this.”<br />
Knight himself was not seek<strong>in</strong>g leniency. “<strong>The</strong>re’s no justification for my steal<strong>in</strong>g,” he said. “And I don’t<br />
want people try<strong>in</strong>g to justify my bad behavior <strong>in</strong> an attempt not to sully what <strong>the</strong>y admire <strong>in</strong> me. Take <strong>the</strong><br />
whole package, good and bad. Judge me on that. Don’t cherry-pick. Don’t make excuses for me.”<br />
“Everyone makes excuses,” said Terry Hughes, who witnessed Knight’s confession <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> P<strong>in</strong>e Tree<br />
d<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g room. “Crim<strong>in</strong>als will deny, deny, deny. That’s what you deal with when you deal with crim<strong>in</strong>als.<br />
That’s <strong>the</strong> world we live <strong>in</strong>. I’m used to that world.”<br />
Hughes said that he had never encountered a person as guilelessly straightforward about his crimes as<br />
Knight. He just owned up to everyth<strong>in</strong>g, Hughes po<strong>in</strong>ted out. Knight had no problem admitt<strong>in</strong>g to a<br />
thousand burglaries. He understood that it was wrong, he was embarrassed and remorseful, but <strong>the</strong>re was<br />
total acknowledgment. “Everyth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> my gut wanted to hate this guy,” said Hughes. “I’m a typical stubborn<br />
jarhead. He stole food from a camp for disabled people. But I can’t hate him. You could work <strong>in</strong> law<br />
enforcement a hundred years and never come across anyone like this.”<br />
“It’s a very strange case, for sure,” said Knight’s pro bono defender, Walter McKee, who is renowned <strong>in</strong><br />
Ma<strong>in</strong>e for his work ethic and his expertise. McKee arrives at his office each day at three-fifteen a.m. He is<br />
also a classical viol<strong>in</strong>ist, a mounta<strong>in</strong>eer, a private airplane pilot, a fa<strong>the</strong>r, and a husband. “Mr. McKee does<br />
not sleep,” reports his firm’s website. He consented to waive Knight’s right to a speedy trial <strong>in</strong> order to<br />
determ<strong>in</strong>e how best to proceed.<br />
<strong>The</strong> modern hermit community—it exists—also debated Knight’s merits. On <strong>the</strong> Hermitary website is an<br />
area called Hermit’s Slate, which is described as “a forum for hermits, solitaries, anchorites, recluses,<br />
<strong>in</strong>troverts.” Before you’re allowed to post <strong>the</strong>re, <strong>the</strong> adm<strong>in</strong>istrator of <strong>the</strong> Hermitary site, who uses <strong>the</strong> pen<br />
name Meng-hu, must decide whe<strong>the</strong>r you are a legitimate hermit. <strong>The</strong>re are currently more than a thousand<br />
members; perhaps not surpris<strong>in</strong>gly, <strong>the</strong>re are seldom more than two or three onl<strong>in</strong>e at once.<br />
<strong>The</strong> general consensus among Hermitary denizens seems to be that Knight should not be considered a<br />
hermit. He was more of an <strong>in</strong>sult to hermits. Meng-hu wrote a blog post about hermits like Knight. “<strong>The</strong><br />
idea of a hermit who steals for a liv<strong>in</strong>g confirms <strong>the</strong> worst stereotype of <strong>the</strong> ‘eremite as parasite,’ ” noted