by JJ Epic | Jun 6, 2013 |
Donate today to Rich Paul’s Appeal Fundraiser!
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Rich Paul has become a martyr for the legal marijuana movement, risking a life in prison rather than accept that something he loves should be a crime.
As Harry Cheadle of Vice reported earlier, the New Hampshire libertarian was arrested on four charges of selling marijuana and one of selling LSD last year. Paul refused to bargain with the FBI or accept a plea bargain — even when offered a deal with no jail time — and when his trial came Paul tried in vain to convince the jury not to convict him.
At his sentencing on Friday, Paul faces a maximum of 100 years in prison, even if he is likely to get far less.
While his story has been held up as a paragon of ludicrous drug laws, the 40-year-old claims that he’s really being targeted because of his membership in a libertarian political group.
It may sounds crazy, but when you hear some of the strange elements of his arrest — and the recent scandal over the IRS targeting Tea Party groups — you have to wonder if he has a point.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/rich-paul-says-fbi-targeted-libertarians-2013-6#ixzz2VRmHAwOW
by JJ Epic | May 30, 2013 |
Harry Cheadle over at Vice.com wrote up a follow-up article on Rich Paul and his struggles with prohibition laws:
Last month I wrote about Rich Paul, a pro-marijuana activist in Keene, New Hampshire, who was facing 81 years in prison for selling marijuana. Rich had refused plea-bargain deals (including one that would have let him walk away with no jail time) because he wanted to stand up for his principles—weed is basically harmless and you should be allowed to smoke it and sell it to your friends. “Somebody had to stand up and say that this is wrong, and I thought I might well be that guy,” Rich emailed me. “I took the risk and now we’ll find out whether I bet my life well.”
Two days after he wrote that, the jury found Rich guilty, sending him to prison for a long, long time for a nonviolent crime.*
That’s not so strange, because Rich essentially admitted that he sold a whole bunch of weed to an FBI informant. His defense didn’t rely on convincing anyone he wasn’t breaking the law—he wanted to convince the jury that the law itself was wrong. In other words, he was leaning on the principle of jury nullification, which is the idea that juries can vote to acquit people who have clearly broken the law if they think that the law shouldn’t exist in the first place.
“I wasn’t shocked,” Rich admitted to me in a video recorded from jail. “Jury nullification is a long shot.” Even so, he’s planning on appealing to the New Hampshire Supreme Court on the grounds that the judge misled the jury on what nullification is.
Read the rest at: http://www.vice.com/read/rich-paul-is-appealing-his-81-year-prison-sentence-for-selling-pot
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by JJ Epic | May 30, 2013 |
The past couple weeks have seen some drastic moves by the United States Government and the US Global Illicit Financial Team. Starting with the DHS blocking and seizing Dwolla accounts that were linked to Mt. Gox a little more than two weeks ago, the scene was set for more of the same. The crime in question: Money Laundering and not registering as a money-transmitting service.
This past week the witch hunt continued with Liberty Reserve being the next suspect. Liberty Reserve is a Costa Rica based online virtual currency service similar to PayPal. Founder, Arthur Budovsky, was arrested in Spain and was one of six indicted in connection with Liberty Reserve. The indictment included a ludicrous claim that the service laundered, “more than $6 billion in criminal proceeds” and was “one designed to help criminals conduct illegal transactions and launder the proceeds of their crimes” — essentially accusing most of the users of being involved in criminal activities.
Among the legitimate customers of Liberty Reserve is ePay Cards, a service that functioned like an online pre-paid MasterCard or Visa. Mitver Holdings owns ePay Cards and has $28,000 USD tied up in Liberty Reserve accounts at the time of the shutdown. This is not a new territory for Mr. Budovsky, in 2006 he was found guilty for operating Gold Age from his Brooklyn, New York apartment. Started in 1999, Gold Age was one of the first independent e-gold exchangers. (more…)
by JJ Epic | May 24, 2013 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FACING 81 YEARS, RICH PAUL PLANNING TO APPEAL CONVICTIONS TO NH SUPREME COURT
Rich Paul, political activist and founder of the 420 Foundation, is seeking help to appeal the guilty verdict he received recently at Cheshire Superior Court in Keene, NH. Rich was on trial for selling marijuana to an undercover Drug Task Force informant. The drug sting was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and culminated with Rich Paul being asked to “cooperate” with the FBI in order to ensnare more local activists by wearing a wire into the Keene Activist Center.
The appeal will center around the recent New Hampshire State Law, HB 146, which affirms the legality of a jury to judge not just the case but the law itself. This ancient power of juries, called Jury Nullification, predates modern court systems as a part of common law. Judge John C. Kissinger refused to read jury instructions that included the jury nullification component. Mr. Paul has admitted to selling the marijuana and pursued a jury nullification defense only to be stymied by the Judge just before deliberations.
Should Mr. Paul succeed in his appeal it will help create a binding precedent allowing for all future jury instructions to include the jury nullification component. He hopes this will counteract the over-arching power that the State has in the courtroom and bring a more common-sense approach to trials. Mr. Paul has created no victims and should not be faced with 81 years in jail for selling a plant. He hopes to serve as an example for others ensnared by such tactics who also have acted peacefully and created no victims.
Justice is not cheap in America so a fundraiser has started to help hire a lawyer for the appeal. It is being coordinated online through a GoFund Me page and a facebook event. The tentative end date for the fundraiser is the day Mr. Paul will be sentenced, June 8th, 2013, allowing the lawyer hired to have a full month to prepare the appeal. Rich has taken up a tremendous challenge by fighting these charges through the court system rather than taking a plea deal. He is seeking the support of liberty lovers, believers in Jury Nullification, and opponents of prohibition. Contact his press agent James at (603) 209-9283 or jjschless@gmail.com for additional information. Please consider sharing this story and donating to the fundraiser.
Court of Record: Cheshire Superior Court, Keene, NH
Case Number: 12-cr-131
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This press release was emailed to 657 reporters and news agencies on 5/24/2013 at 6:05pm – JJ
by JJ Epic | May 14, 2013 |
Be a part of the campaign and help give Rich Paul a chance to avoid as much as 81 years in a cage! I’ve started a fundraiser with gofundme.com here!
I have also started a facebook event. Please join the event, invite your friends, and donate!
There will be more updates and a press release later in the week. Rich has sacrificed a lot to try and effect change in the court system, the least we can do is give a few dollars to help him out!
Donate today to Rich Paul’s Appeal Fundraiser!
