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VARIED VIEWPOINTS: Police, Parents, Patients, Physicians, Pastors
Nathan Diebenow
04 Dec 2006 12:00 am
A growing number of police, parents, patients, physicians, and pastors across the United States are all saying the same thing about their government’s so-called "War on Drugs":
"Shelf it!"
In this issue, the Lone Star Iconoclast has provided space for members of these groups to explain why they feel the way they feel about drug prohibition.
There’s a perspective from a parent who started Building BLOCK (Better Lives for Our Communities) based in Denton, Texas. Christopher Largen, himself a victim of sexual abuse, argues that the American criminal justice system unfairly demands more from non-violent marijuana consumers than from child predators.
Iconoclast readers should treat this issue as a sampler of stories of experienced professionals and concerned citizens whose opinions have been ignored, suppressed, and/or skewed in today’s mainstream media. In certain cases, federal government officials ignored our calls for interviews.
While Child Predators Walk, Marijuana Consumers Nailed
Christopher Largen
04 Dec 2006 12:00 am
For those of you who retain faith in our justice system, it may shock you to learn that my hometown of Denton, TX is home to dozens of predators convicted of sex crimes against children 13 and younger, all the way down to age 4, who never served a single day in jail. Some of these rapists have been convicted of multiple offenses against multiple children. This same dynamic is occurring across our nation.
Sit with that a moment. The system that sentences prostitutes, vandalists, and marijuana consumers to jail might release a convicted child rapist right back into your neighborhood — as if personal property and morality were more important than public safety, and pilferers and potheads were more threatening than perverted predators.
This disparity is not for lack of resources. The United States leads the world in incarceration rates. Thanks to Draconian penalties for consensual crimes (implemented in the name of "protecting the children"), we lock up more of our population than Iraq, China, Iran, and North Korea. Yet many of our judges go easy on child rapists.
Complacency in the face of evil is inexcusable. Children are being abducted, raped, videotaped for the perverse pleasure of predators, tortured, and murdered. Last year in Florida, a beautiful little girl named Jessica Lunsford was attacked by a previously convicted molester who was set free by the courts to enter her bedroom, abduct her, sexually assault her repeatedly, and bury her alive in her neighbor’s yard.
While Florida law enforcement officials failed to properly monitor and control the convicted predators in their communities, they had plenty of resources to set up reverse marijuana stings, dispatching officers to try and sell small bags of the outlawed herb to strangers on the street. It appears that inciting petty misdemeanors takes priority over preventing violent felonies. Jessica’s father Mark Lunsford, who has spent the past year traveling the country, tirelessly fighting for changes in the law, asked, "Where are our priorities as a nation? Where are our values? Sometimes it seems like we don’t value anything, least of all the children."
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Federal Medical Marijuana Patient Speaks Out
Stephen Webster
04 Dec 2006 12:00 am
George McMahon is no pothead. However, for the last 16 years, marijuana is the only thing that has kept him alive.
While some might find this hard to believe, McMahon cannot imagine why. To him, it is just medicine. "How many people take insulin to treat the symptoms of diabetes?" he wonders. "Same thing for me. I take this medicine to treat the symptoms of my disease."
Since he was a child, McMahon has been just a little bit different from everybody else.
"I have a slight genetic difference," he explained during an interview on August 18, 2006. "I have what’s called Nail Patella Syndrome. It is a genetic disorder. I was born in 1950, and back then, well, we weren’t as intelligent as we are now. As a kid I would be playing baseball, and when I ran from first base to second base, my leg might fracture. Or if I caught the ball, I’d break a couple fingers. I was constantly in pain."
Because of this disease, George is given 300 marijuana cigarettes every month, courtesy of the United States Government. He is one of only five individuals on the government’s "Compassionate Investigative New Drugs Program." At the program’s height, 17 individuals were smoking taxpayer-financed pot. That number has slowly dwindled, as no new patients are being accepted.
At its outset, the Compassionate IND program was to gather research on the potential medicinal uses of marijuana. No research is being conducted, and none of the patients have participated in any testing to those ends. The first Bush Administration, overwhelmed with applications to the 28-year-old program, decided to shutter it for good, and thousands of terminal patients were forced to continue breaking the law in order to treat their symptoms.
In fact, The Iconoclast solicited statements from the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Federal Drug Administration regarding the program. Both agencies denied its existence, and declined further comment.
"But it’s interesting," said McMahon. "They know about us, and they know about the program. They do not admit it because it would be disclosing my medical information, which is technically private."
McMahon does not take marijuana to treat the disease. In fact, he insists disease is not even a consideration.
"I take marijuana for muscle spasms, pain, and appetite management," he said. "It is the single most effective treatment we have in dealing with spasms and appetite management. When I was on dozens of mind-altering opiates, it completely killed my appetite. Now I can eat. I can sleep. I can be with my family. I can laugh, and work, and everything else a normal person can do. Because of that, I am much healthier. Because marijuana so effectively treats my symptoms, I am better."
Is Medicine Going To Pot?
Stephen Webster
04 Dec 2006 12:00 am
On June 28, 2006, the United Nations warned Britain, the United States, and Canada that new, highly potent strains of cannabis are just as dangerous as cocaine or heroine. According to statements by the international agency, the drug is no longer "soft and relatively harmless," as popular belief dictates.
The U.N.’s Office on Drugs and Crime claimed it was a mistake for the U.K. to reclassify cannabis from a Class B drug to a Class C, which constituted lower penalties for citizens caught in possession of the substance.
Along with Costa’s warnings, the United Nations delivered a report that claims over 160 million people worldwide use the drug. The study also claims that a "significant" number of those who use the potent strains of cannabis suffer from severe anxiety, panic attacks, extreme paranoia and "psychotic symptoms" during intoxication. They also claimed it has no medicinal value for society, and that to legalize its use for medicinal purposes would send the wrong message.
"Today the harmful characteristics of cannabis are no longer that different from those of other plant-based drugs such as cocaine and heroin," said Costa. "Policy reversals leave young people confused as to just how dangerous cannabis is."
However, an increasing number of scientific studies stand in stark contrast to the United Nations’ statements. Some of the most recent medicinal uses discovered include THC-based treatments for cancerous tumors and Alzheimer’s disease.
‘Good Samaritans’ Fight For Human Rights In Drug War
Nathan Diebenow
04 Dec 2006 12:00 am
The Revs. Alan and Nancy Bean never dreamed of being on the front lines of the "war on drugs" — let alone actually getting involved in it in their small West Texas town.
But in 1999, these two ordained Baptist ministers were called to form "Friends of Justice Tulia" to get the word out to the national media, NAACP, the ACLU, and the Justice Department that there was something fishy about a local drug sting.
The sting itself initially received glowing yet nasty coverage in their hometown newspaper.
"When I first heard about the drug sting, actually I didn’t know that everybody was black. The race of those arrested was not given in the newspaper account, which is what I was going on," Rev. Alan Bean told the Iconoclast. "What got me was that they were described as scumbags and known drug dealers in an editorial in the Tulia paper."
Indeed, 39 of the 46 people arrested for allegedly dealing cocaine were African American and so poor that they had no houses or cars of their own. Moreover, the "drug kingpin," a 57-year-old pig farmer who lived in a run-down shack, was convicted and given a 90-year sentence.
Yet as the first of the trials were happening, Rev. Bean questioned the verdicts more closely: Why should the sentences be so long? How could there be 46 drug dealers in a town of 5,000? How could any jury convict any alleged criminal on the testimony of a single narcotics agent?
Looking back on the case, Rev. Bean said he realized that the residents of Tulia were unfairly singled out as racists because the news media got the story wrong. Instead of sensationalizing the racial aspects of the case, though the effect of the "War on Drugs" has been catastrophic on the African American community, the media should have zeroed in on the injustice and failure of federal drug policy, he said.
"When you look at incarceration rates especially related to the ‘War on Drugs’ around the country, Tulia is hardly the only town that is locking up a bunch of black people and using the ‘War on Drugs’ as a proxy for racial profiling," he said. "I felt the real question was, ‘Why are we locking up so many people — period?’ And only secondly, ‘Why are we locking up so many people of color?’"
"Tulia is just a window on a national problem," he added. "Tulia tells you what the problem is because it’s such a small little town, and there are so few players in the story so you can see what’s going on."
More prisons not answer, 2 Texas lawmakers insist
LISA SANDBERG
27 Nov 2006 11:45 pm
In what may indicate a pendulum shift in a state that's become almost synonymous with incarceration, two key Texas lawmakers, a Republican and a Democrat, are showing little appetite for more concrete walls and steel bars.
You read right. With Texas prisons again overflowing, they are stressing rehabilitation, treatment, even parole.
Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and Rep. Jerry Madden, R-Plano, who head the criminal justice committees of their respective chambers, say building more prisons will only beget more prisoners.
"The bottom line is we have sufficient space now if we prioritize our needs," Whitmire said last week. "Prison should not be the first option for non-violent offenders."
Said Madden: "We have to be smart on crime. I think a lot of members agree with that, both Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals."
Former Brownsboro Teacher Found Guilty
CASEY KNAUPP
20 Nov 2006 12:00 am
EDITOR'S NOTE: The name of the victim in this article is not identified in keeping with the Tyler Morning Telegraph's policy to protect the identity of victims of sexual abuse and to encourage the reporting of such crimes.
Former Brownsboro High School biology teacher Donald Dudley was convicted Monday of sexual assault and faces up to 20 years in prison for having an affair with his student.
The nine-woman, three-man jury convicted him of the second-degree felony after about six hours of deliberation in 114th District Judge Cynthia Stevens Kent's court. He is eligible for probation.
Dudley, 44, was convicted of sexually assaulting the student on July 15, 2005. He was earlier convicted by another Smith County jury for sexually assaulting the same victim on July 9, 2005.
During closing arguments on Monday, Assistant Smith County District Attorney Richard Vance said people should be able to trust teachers but can't because of people like Dudley. He said Dudley was disguised like a burglar, but instead of a ski mask, his being a teacher was his disguise to the victim and her parents, who trusted him.
"This case is about a predator that preyed on the innocence of a child," Parrish said, adding that the jury could not punish the girl for being a girl but could punish Dudley for being the adult.
Parrish told the jury to refuse to let Dudley question the integrity of hard-working teachers in the community.
"Teachers work hard to teach our kids and they deserve credit," he said. "Then you get filth like this in our school system who rapes our children ... Protect (the victim) and protect other students."
Dallas teacher in Murphy sex sting
RICHARD ABSHIRE and JIM GETZ
06 Nov 2006 11:12 pm
The child-solicitation sting that led to a Rockwall County prosecutor's suicide as police closed in also produced charges against 21 others, authorities said Monday, including a teacher.
Dallas school district spokeswoman Ivette Cruz confirmed that the suspect is a district employee but would say little else.
"The district's policy is not to comment on an ongoing investigation," she said.
Records, however, show that [he] teaches at Spence Middle School. That would put him in daily contact with children about the same age as the 13- to 14-year-old whom authorities say the suspects thought they were soliciting over the Internet.
Sex offender's sentence has judge on the defensive
Jason Whitely
02 Nov 2006 6:28 pm
Could the sentence of a disgraced radio talk show host cost one judge his job?
The Democratic challenger for a District Court position in Fort Bend County is questioning the Republican party's hard-line stance on crime. He's pointing to the incumbent's punishment of convicted sex offender Jon Matthews.
Rarely does a judicial race become so competitive. But the fight for the 268th District Court is testing that theory.
A series of campaign ads published this week label Judge Brady Elliott as soft on crime.
"He's hard on kids who have marijuana but he gave a slap on the wrist to a man who had indecency with a child," said Dan Bankston with the Fort Bend County Democratic party.
Democrats point to Jon Matthews as an example.
The former right-wing radio host pleaded guilty to indecency with a child after exposing himself to an 11-year-old neighbor girl.
The charge carried up to 10 years in prison.
But Judge Brady Elliott sentenced Matthews to seven years of probation.
Prosecutors want sex-predator treatment for killer
Associated Press
25 Oct 2006 1:22 am
Prosecutors said Tuesday that a convicted murderer should be kept in state treatment when he completes his 25-year sentence next year because he is a sexually violent predator.
In the first day of a civil trial conducted under the Texas Sexually Violent Predator Program, state prosecutor Joey Robertson said 44-year-old Wesley Wayne Miller of Fort Worth can't control his "sexual deviant behavior."
The program created in 1999 requires involuntary treatment for convicted sexual predators when their incarceration ends. Lawmakers expanded the law last year to include convicted murderers with a history of sexual violence.
Miller, who was found guilty in 1982 of stabbing to death Retha Stratton, is the first murder convict to be tried under the expanded program.
If the Montgomery County jury of eight men and four women decide Miller belongs in the predator program, he would be required to live in a residential facility, restricted from contacting potential victims and barred from alcohol or drug use.
He also would be subject to satellite monitoring and could not change his residence or leave the state without a judge's authorization.
Justice Revolution stirs global awareness
27 Sep 2006 12:00 am
The oversized signs on the side of the Campus Center and the students waiting to supply you with the "get outside yourself" backpack patches mean International Justice Mission Awareness Week has begun.
IJM is a purposeful human rights organization that advocates global justice through support of the collegians. ACU's specific chapter works to eliminate sex slavery, forced slavery, corrupt police officials and illegal seizure of property.
Students interested in IJM can attain information and take part in this year's awareness week, Justice Revolution.
"Our goal is to raise up a generation that is passionate about justice in the world," said Brandon Smith, junior political science major from Kansas City, Kans.
Girl Once Locked Away Is Again Victimized
KXAS-TV
26 Sep 2006 8:19 am
The young girl found by police five years ago starving and locked in a filthy, lice-infested closet is once again the victim of violence, NBC 5 reported. According to court documents obtained by NBC 5, the girl was the victim of a sexual assault by a relative of the family that adopted her.
Back in 2001, the girl's story shocked North Texans. At 8 years old, she weighed just 25 pounds when she was rescued from her birth parents' home.
Police rescued the girl and arrested her parents.
A family in rural Van Zandt County, who had cared for the girl when she was a baby, adopted her and hoped to give her a better life.
Now 13 years old, the same girl has been victimized again.
Jesse Lee Bass, the husband of the adoptive mother's niece, pleaded guilty last week to sexually assaulting the girl last year. Bass was sentenced to 13 years behind bars in connection with the girl's assault. Bass and his wife have also been charged with possession of child pornography.
