Naughty Journal Author Denied Plea Change

measl at mfn.org measl at mfn.org
Wed Sep 5 05:00:58 PDT 2001




This is the case I had in mind when I made my recent assertion that
thought==action in today's "court".  How can anyone see this case, and not
conclude otherwise?  This dude is going to spend a long time in stir, for
a *pure Thought Crime*.


Yours,

J.A. Terranson
sysadmin at mfn.org



On Tue, 4 Sep 2001, Eric Cordian wrote:

> Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 16:01:56 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Eric Cordian <emc at artifact.psychedelic.net>
> Reply-To: cypherpunks at ssz.com
> To: cypherpunks at einstein.ssz.com
> Subject: CDR: Naughty Journal Author Denied Plea Change
> 
> Not unsurprisingly, the judge has refused to permit a man sentenced to 10
> years in prison for textual depictions of child sex in a private journal
> to withdraw his guilty plea and get a trial.
> 
> As F. Lee Bailey once said, the major flaw in the American justice system
> is that appeals focus only on procedural errors, and ones guilt or
> innocence is never again an issue after the original trial, even if that
> trial reached the wrong result.
> 
> Having concluded that all the i's were dotted and the t's crossed in the
> screwing of Mr. Dalton by the state of Ohio, justice proceeds merrily
> onward.
> 
> -----
> 
> COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A man sentenced to prison for writing fantasies in his
> personal journal about torturing and molesting children cannot change his
> guilty plea, a judge ruled Tuesday.
> 
> Franklin County Judge Nodine Miller said Brian Dalton did not demonstrate
> a "manifest injustice" had taken place.
> 
> Dalton, 22, had asked to withdraw his guilty plea, saying it was not made
> knowingly or intelligently, and that he was expecting to be sentenced to
> treatment, not 10 years in prison.
> 
> The case alarmed experts in First Amendment and obscenity law, who believe
> Dalton is the first person in the country successfully prosecuted for
> simply writing what was judged to be child pornography. "Definitely this
> is a matter of grave constitutional concerns," said attorney Benson
> Wolman, a former executive director of the American Civil Liberties
> Union's Ohio chapter. He said he will ask the court to set aside Dalton's
> conviction, or file a delayed appeal.
> 
> ...
> 
> 

-- 
Yours, 
J.A. Terranson
sysadmin at mfn.org

If Governments really want us to behave like civilized human beings, they
should give serious consideration towards setting a better example:
Ruling by force, rather than consensus; the unrestrained application of
unjust laws (which the victim-populations were never allowed input on in
the first place); the State policy of justice only for the rich and 
elected; the intentional abuse and occassionally destruction of entire
populations merely to distract an already apathetic and numb electorate...
This type of demogoguery must surely wipe out the fascist United States
as surely as it wiped out the fascist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

The views expressed here are mine, and NOT those of my employers,
associates, or others.  Besides, if it *were* the opinion of all of
those people, I doubt there would be a problem to bitch about in the
first place...
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