JURY NULLIFICATION

In this day and age it most certainly is a rare instance where a formerly convicted ex felon is arrested again for the same charge, and is able to use a jury nullification defense to receive a
 
 

NJ Weedman AKA Edward Forchion did just that. 


He summarily used NJ's own  newly enacted Medical Marijuana laws against  decades of old laws regarding the criminal prosecution for distribution/possession of Marijuana.

Edward Forchion is a dual resident in NJ , and CA. 

He argued that the he is licensed to posses marijuana in CA ,and that it was not for 
distribution, but for medicinal reasons.  He argued that the jury has the right to effectively nullify a law.

He has a form of cancer that produces painful bone tumors.  He uses cannabis to ease the pain.

 In pretrial motions, which were subsequently barred from being argued before the jury, 

Forchion challenged the constitutionality of the state’s criminal code ; because New Jersey now has a Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana law that recognizes the benefits of cannabis.

 
 The decision came after Forchion was almost held in contempt of court Thursday morning as he delivered his closing argument.


 NJWeedman tried to introduce his jury nullification argument into the closing, but Superior Court Judge Charles Delehey, who had already barred any discussion of it, quickly stopped him.

 "If you want to make a martyr of yourself, the court will deal with you," the judge told Forchion, who was wearing a "Marijuana... It's OK" t-shirt.

 "You've done everything you can to disrupt this trial."

The state claimed that because a pound of marijuana was involved, Forchion intended to distribute it. 

Perhaps sensing the tide turning against him, Burlington County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Luciano tried to convince the jury that the case was not a "political referendum" on medical marijuana or cannabis legalization.

"It is not a litmus test on the War On Drugs," Luciano claimed.

The assistant prosecutor also claimed that "numbers and common sense" should result in a guilty verdict, claiming that Forchion had enough weed on him when he was stopped by police in Mount Holly on April 1, 2010, to smoke "for months."

Luciano claimed Forchion would have to smoke two to three joints an hour nonstop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to get through the pound of marijuana in six months. 

NJWeedman disputed the prosecutor's math, saying it didn't accurately portray how he uses cannabis.

 

Ultimately the Jury rejected the prosecutors claims, and issued a "Not Guilty " Verdict. 

I guess they didn't want to waste 30-40 thousand a year to incarcerate NJ Weedman for having a pound of natural vegetation with medicinal properties.   

 The state wouldve recommended upwards of 5 yrs in this case.

  Leave it up to fiscally conservative juries.
 

MASS INCARCERATION A HISTORY

The topic today is Mass Incarceration, and how it effects the black community as a whole.

Im writing this blog from the prospective of an ex felon who has experienced the ramifications of bad choices coupled with a overly aggressive judicial system.    With that being said more than a decade has passed after my prior trangression ,and the institution of the Prison Industrial Complex has continued  to explode.

 In 1970 Richard Nixon implemented the official " War on Drugs "














Future presidents Reagan ,and Clinton all piled on "Get Tough on Crime' bills that ushered in harsh sentencing guidelines for repeat ,and first time offenders.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/103/hr3355


Soon opportunism takes over, and the "Drug War is seen as a cash cow for all involved.

As evidenced here  the strategy in the 80's ran a dual fold agenda. While mounting a vigorous campaign against "Crack Cocaine" Reagan was making sure Sandanistas were being funded from sales of the drug in inner cities.

Which brings us where we are today. We have quadruped our prison population , and have earned the dubious title of the Worlds most Incarcerated  .
http://www.prb.org/Articles/2012/us-incarceration.aspx


 Prison is big business  now ......
 http://www.forbes.com/sites/dividendchannel/2012/10/08/corrections-corporation-of-america-larger-than-sp-500-component-owens-illinois/

Recently the CCA  offered 48 cash strapped states the opportunity to privatize their prison systems with the agreement that the jails be kept at a 90% capacity rate over 20 years. There's only one way to accomplish that seemingly insurmountable feat. States would most likely have to enact stiffer penalties for existing laws and enact new legislation with increased penalties for different crimes.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/14/private-prisons-buying-state-prisons_n_1272143.html

The need for profit drives this industry just like any other, however the commodity that the Prison Industrial Complex trades in is human bodies . Prison labor is also big business, as prisoners are forced to labor for mere pennies.

The need for a constant flow of prisoners is fueled , and fed by the 40year old "War on Drugs" which is essentially a war on American Citizens with no reasonable end in sight.
The impact this profiteering trend has had on the black community is devastating. From 1970 on you can see the decline of black fathers in the household , and growing numbers of single parent households with a generational recycling of the same problems. The targeting of the black community is blatantly obvious.

Even though its well known that whites ,and blacks use , and sell drugs at the same rate, but some how blacks make up more than half of the entire prison population . Something is wrong , and has been wrong for a very long time.

My summation is this. If we do not tackle the "Drug War " the problems within the black community that are cyclical in nature will continue to repeat itself.

The feel good integrity, and family value speeches will not rectify the damage perpetuated by years , and years of deliberate racist policies to profit, and subjugate young black males to the whims of private prison profiteers.