MethRanger Case Hits Your Pocketbook

CALHOUN MAN BEATS METH RAP AFTER STATE COP THROWS AWAY EVIDENCE

STATE POLICE’S PERFORMANCE “MERE NEGLIGENCE” – Richard’s Meth Case Dropped

When something like this happens, you have to wonder a couple things. First and foremost would be the question of cost. In any drug case, or any criminal case at all, there must be something called an “investigation” by State Police, which theoretically is used to determine if there is enough evidence to get a search warrant. Altho investigations have been know to take as little as a few minutes in certain cases, most go on for months or longer. Then the Magistrate must get involved as he is the one who issues and signs the warrants. Then there is the actual search which requires about a dozen officers and several hours in which to “search”, “confiscate”, “perform random acts of destruction”, and “get their stories straight”. Then there is all the time involved in “paperwork”. If someone is arrested, there is the cost of transport to jail, plus the cost of housing an inmate. Add to that the costs involved in prosecution, which in some instances requires MANY trips back and forth to and from the jail, as well as the cost of a public “defender”. Or the incidentals such as psychological evaluations. There is no such thing as “right to speedy trial”. That is a myth, with most court cases being “held over” numerous times for everything from court mistakes to lawyers going on vacation. Your average court case seems to take a couple years. (Strange that a “criminal” should be allowed to run free for two or more years before being “convicted” simply because he had enough money to bail out.)

And so, in a case like the “Lone Meth Ranger’s”, as you can imagine, enough of your hard earned tax money was spent that you could have gone on an extended vacation to the Bahamas. And this is only ONE example of MANY, as is easy enough to discover if you simply ask around any crowd that knows anyone who has had anything to do with being arrested, hassled, or otherwise bothered by the State Police and the legal system. In my own investigations I have determined that ANYONE who has had a run-in with the State Police has a horror story to tell…

Which brings us to the OTHER thing. That’s the part where someone who eventually is found “not guilty” or whose case is “dismissed”, or who is “acquitted”, as well as those who are found to be “safe” enough to be put on things like “unsupervised probation”, has had their lives turned upside down for many months by the inhumanities of a system in which you are nothing more than just another number… The stress, the not knowing, the hassle and upset of being dragged thru the legal system. The intimidation, the worry, and in some cases the outright dangerous situations that some people are forced into during this time of limbo are all part of a “punishment” that can not be imagined unless you have been thru it. To say nothing of the “reputation” which might follow someone forever due to gossipy busy bodys who have never done a single wrong thing in their entire lives… A lengthy punishment for someone who is eventually found “innocent” or reasonably so.

I propose that a complete makeover in the State Police organization AND in the legal system is LONG overdue.

Published in: on April 26, 2007 at 9:08 pm  Comments (2)  

WV Citizen Action Group’s Spring Dinner

WV Citizen Action Group’s
Annual Spring Dinner
Friday, April 27, 2007 ~ Coonskin Park Clubhouse
Join the progressive community to celebrate 33 years of Citizen Action in West Virginia and to honor the life-long accomplishments of our award winners!
5:30 PM – Reception with music and hors d’oeuvres
Bid on interesting & eclectic items in Silent Auction
6:30 PM – Buffet/Drinks/Great Food
Sample taste delights from our expansive buffet
7:15 PM – Annual Awards: In Defense of Democracy
Rev. Jim Lewis
Don Marsh Public Service
Richie Robb
8:00 PM – Auction, Dessert, Music and Mingling
Check out our world famous auction, delicious desserts and share the evening with progressive friends
For more info, call 304-346-5891 or e-mail linda@wvcag.org. Tickets ~ $40/person
You can send checks to: 1500 Dixie Street, Charleston, WV 25311 or make credit card donation online at http://www.wvcag.org

Published in: on April 22, 2007 at 2:56 am  Leave a Comment  

The U.S. Versus John Lennon

Here is a GREAT documentary movie for anyone interested in 60’s and early 70’s history during the Viet Nam War and the Nixon Administration. The true story of John Lennon’s life, his effect on the United States Government, and his eventual assasination. With interviews by Yoko Ono, and various persons in government and in the news at the time. I found it at the Movie Gallery in the “new release” section.

Now, I have a question. We NEED people like John Lennon, Martin Luther King, Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman, and all the rest, NOW, more than ever. And I want to know, WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY?

Now I have an answer. People like them, are US. NOT someone else. WE have to be the ones. Not wait for someone else to do it. What if John Lennon simply waited for someone else? What if all the famous activists of the time sat around waiting for someone else to do it?

Come on people now, smile on your brother, every body get together, gonna love one another right now….

Published in: on April 16, 2007 at 3:14 pm  Comments (1)  

Stand up for the children on Mothers Day

Hi friends!

We want everyone to know about a really great event that we are participating in on May 13th, 2007 which in the U.S. is Mother’s Day.   The original intent when Mother’s Day was established was to promote peace in the world.  Following in that tradition—this event is to stand for the world’s children.

Please read the enclosed email for details.    PLEASE pass on the information to your email lists.

Then, if you choose to participate please go to the web site  StandingWomen.org and register your participation by clicking “yes” when asked if you will participate.  You can see where events are planned and register your own plans to participate or organize a group.
You may stand in your own home, with others that you know, or go really crazy and organize a big event in your city!! This project is going world-wide so feel free to spread the message in any way you can.  Send this to all of your friends.

We are planning to be in Court House Square in Bellefontaine with a group on that day—come join us if you want!!!!
I am sending an attachment so you can make cards to pass out if you want to.

Let me know if I can help with your planning,

Love and Blessings,
Mary

EMAIL FOLLOWS:

The women of Ohio, U.S.A., call upon the women of the world, from day-old babies to our most senior elders, to stand with us on May 13, 2007, to save the world.  Our project is based on Sharon Mehdi’s book The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering.  If you don’t know the story, a summary of the original version is on the website http://www.standingwomen.org.

If you think it is appropriate, please send this message on to all of the women throughout the world who you think might like to join us.

We will be standing for the world’s children and grandchildren, and for the seven generations beyond them.  We dream of a world where all of our children have safe drinking water, clean air to breathe, and enough food to eat.  A world where they have access to a basic education to develop their minds and healthcare to nurture their growing bodies.  A world where they have a warm, safe, and loving place to call home.  A world where they don’t live in fear of violence–in their home, in their neighborhood, in their school, or in their world.  This is the world of which we dream.  This is the cause for which we will stand.

If you share this dream, please stand with us for five minutes of silence at 1 p.m. your local time on May 13, 2007, in your local park, school yard, gathering place, or any place you deem appropriate, to signify your agreement with this statement.  We ask you to invite the men and boys who you care about to join you.  We ask that you bring bells to ring at 1 p.m. to signify the beginning of the five minutes of silence and to ring again to signify the end of the period of silence.  During the silence, please think about what you individually and we collectively can do to attain this world.  If you need to sit rather than stand, please feel free to do so.  Afterwards, hopefully you and your loved ones can talk together about how we can bring about this world.

See http://www.standingwomen.org for more details and to register your commitment to stand with us.   The website is in 15 languages and links to a YouTube video.  We hope to see a 24 hour wave of women and men all over the globe standing to save the world.

Published in: on April 12, 2007 at 3:12 pm  Leave a Comment  

Now is the time to Exercise Your Rights!

The time is right. The West Virginia State Police are under the microscope in Calhoun AND Roane Counties. The common citizens of these counties are discussing the problems. Not just radicals and malcontents, but ANYONE who follows the news. They are being talked about in coffee shops, the library, the post office, on the street.

Investigations are being conducted, lie detector tests are being done. And so, now is the best time for ANYONE with a complaint or problem to CONTACT the proper authorities. At this time they WILL listen, perhaps more so than at any other time.

It is time to stop being scared. It is time to stop being apathetic. It is time to stop feeling like nothing can be done. It is time for WV citizens to EXERCISE YOUR RIGHTS! Take back your peace of mind AND your counties. Let the powers that be know you are sick and tired of being intimidated and threatened by State Troopers.

Imagine what could possibly be accomplished if the Governors office and the Professional Standards Section of the State Police office in  Charleston were FLOODED with complaints…

There is no point in contacting your local State Police Barracks, as the individuals who work there could be part of the problem and your complaints may go unheard. Go over their heads!

Documentation is the key. One person making a complaint cannot expect to see immediate results, but if enough complaints of State Police misconduct are recieved and documented there is far greater probability that something positive will be accomplished. There is power in numbers.

We are already seeing some juries who are not accepting everything the State Police say as gospel. This is a VERY GOOD SIGN! It means people are thinking. Now it is time to take things to the next level.

Contact the Professional Standards Division AND the Governors office TODAY. Encourage your friends and acquaintances to do the same. Pass on this information to as many people as you can.

Contact the State Police Professional Standards Section at 304.746.2110, or by mail at: West. Virginia State Police Professional Standards Section, 725 Jefferson Road, S. Charleston,WV, 25309-1698.

Professional Standards Unit
Captain J. A. Parsons, OIC
746-2114

Contact the Governor
1900 Kanawha Boulevard, E., Charleston, WV 25305
Toll-Free: 1-888-438-2731

Email: Governor@WVGov.org

Published in: on April 6, 2007 at 3:13 pm  Comments (1)