no popes - a little relief

[calbert at pop.tiac.net]

My hair hurts!


"Man Found Guilty Of Marijuana Trafficking, Receives One Cent Fine
    
    Sept. 30, 1999, Bowling Green, KY: Sometimes the punishment does fit the 
crime.
    A man charged with trafficking less than eight ounces of marijuana (a 
misdemeanor in Kentucky) at General Motor's Corvette assembly plant was 
handed down a fine of one penny by a Warren County Court jury. 
    Steven D. Eichholz was arrested in the May 1998 undercover drug sweep at 
the GM Plant. On Sept. 17 he was found guilty of trafficking marijuana, 
but was given a symbolic fine of one cent. 
    The jury reprimanded the auto maker on the juror form for what they 
called GM's "underhanded and nonprofessional" methods of policing its 
employees. 
    The undercover operation occurred when Aset Corp., a private security 
company hired by GM, placed an attractive woman undercover in the plant. 
During the workday she would make occasional comments about wanting to 
"have a joint." 
    Seventeen GM workers in all were arrested in the five-month drug sweep, 
many of whom have already pled guilty.
    Now, Warren County Attorney Mike Caudill is asking that drug charges 
against seven other employees caught in the same drug sting be dismissed 
because of "fundamental fairness and private law enforcement" that did 
not understand "evidence integrity or constitutional rights."
    "It's heartening to see a jury dispense a penalty that fits the crime," 
said Allen St. Pierre, NORML Foundation Executive Director. "If more 
citizens would legally challenge their marijuana arrests rather than cop 
a plea bargain, more citizen jurors will hear how invasive and excessive 
the war on marijuana smokers has become."
    For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Foundation 
Executive Director at (202) 483-8751. "

Nothing beats a sharp hook and fresh bait!


love,
cfa