The joke is on you if you still think the “justice” system actually renders any. Case in point: Eight activists were charged with misdemeanor trespassing at the county jail earlier this year. (That one can “trespass” on property that is open to the public is another ludicrous issue, but I digress.) All eight activists were arrested together, so the circumstances of the cases were identical. The activists’ trials were broken up over multiple months. First, in August, was Jim Johnson. Jim was convicted of misdemeanor trespass and is currently appealing to a jury trial. Then, in September, was a multi-defendant trial involving yours truly, Lauren Canario, and fellow Free Keene bloggers Sean Murphy and Dale Everett. In this trial, the same man in the robe, Edward Burke, admitted that we couldn’t be found guilty of misdemeanor trespass, meaning it was not proven that it had been adequately communicated to us that we needed to leave. However, he convicted us all of violation-level trespass. Of course, this wasn’t what we were charged with at the start of the trial and unlike the misdemeanor charge, the requirements for conviction of this charge revolve around the defendant supposedly knowing he or she was not supposed to be in the place in question. Of course, we thought we could be there, as we’d been to the old jail countless times doing the exact same thing and had never been told to leave. However, we were not allowed to ask questions that would have been relevant to such a defense, because at the time of the trial it was still a misdemeanor, so the robed man ruled against those questions, saying they weren’t relevant to whether or not we were told to leave and didn’t, which is what needed to be proven by the state gang for a misdemeanor conviction.
If that wasn’t inconsistent and arbitrary enough for you, we come to the trial of Menno Troyer, who was quietly found NOT GUILTY of violation trespass a few days after his trial! (more…)
Recently, Free Keene blogger JJ discovered that Vendetta is now allowing all ages before 9pm, which was the original reason Social Sundays moved out of Vendetta. Several weeks ago, it was announced that a group of activists would be holding another Social Sundays at Vendetta. Activists quickly gravitated to Vendetta, which was home to Social Sundays for a long time, and has an excellent beer selection and now offers Sushi and other Asian fare. Vendetta is also conveniently located next door to Pedraza’s for those who prefer Mexican for dinner!
So, join your fellow liberty lovers every Sunday starting at 5pm at Vendetta at 43 Central Square. Here’s the forum thread about the change.
Capuzzo has written “A letter from the coop”, from the jail in Mass. You can give him something to do in there by sending him (and other NH activists) mail via mail-to-jail! Here’s an OCR of the letter:
Edward Dantez (Just to keep clear the author) Pseudonym of Mark Capuzzo Franklin County House of Corrections Oct. 13,2010
A friend of mine raises chickens.
A couple months ago, I recieved a letter from her with a comparison and a question relating to her chickens and my jail time ( which I am currently in my fourth month of).
The comparison is that she keeps her chickens penned up, just like I’m penned up. Then she said something about her stealing the chickens eggs for her own use. I make a comparison about the eggs being like money is to me.
The question she asked was if I ever felt an animosity towards my captors, because she imagines that her chickens get pretty pissed off at her. I didn’t take much time to think on it at the time, and even made a reference to Animal Farm. But I got to thinking about it today and the following is the result of those thoughts. (more…)
Thanks to Andrew Reynolds at the Keene Equinox for this piece:
A year after six protestors were arrested for allegedly smoking pot, the scene at this year’s Pumpkin Fest remained relatively joyous and peaceful.
Last year, state and local police officers encircled a group of 15 to 25 pro-marijuana demonstrators in front of City Hall and interrupted their gathering after three of the protestors supposedly lit up a marijuana cigarette. Later, three more protestors were arrested and charged with misdemeanors.
Both the protestors and the wafting tang of marijuana smoke were absent this year. Yet police officers still poured out of the City Hall entrance. Within the half hour between 3:30 and 4:00, more than 10 officers unhurriedly emerged from the building. This time there were no signs, no megaphones, and no pot parties.
According to a Free Keene member who witnessed the demonstration at City Hall, at least a dozen police officers surrounded last year’s group of about 20 protestors. (more…)
Jason Talley from the Civil Disobedience Evolution Fund continues his report on Nurse Patricia, this time interviewing her mother about Patricia’s conviction for growing plants:
The joke is on you if you still think the “justice” system actually renders any. Case in point: Eight activists were charged with misdemeanor trespassing at the county jail earlier this year. (That one can “trespass” on property that is open to the public is another ludicrous issue, but I digress.) All eight activists were arrested together, so the circumstances of the cases were identical. The activists’ trials were broken up over multiple months. First, in August, was Jim Johnson. Jim was convicted of misdemeanor trespass and is currently appealing to a jury trial. Then, in September, was a multi-defendant trial involving yours truly, Lauren Canario, and fellow Free Keene bloggers Sean Murphy and Dale Everett. In this trial, the same man in the robe, Edward Burke, admitted that we couldn’t be found guilty of misdemeanor trespass, meaning it was not proven that it had been adequately communicated to us that we needed to leave. However, he convicted us all of violation-level trespass. Of course, this wasn’t what we were charged with at the start of the trial and unlike the misdemeanor charge, the requirements for conviction of this charge revolve around the defendant supposedly knowing he or she was not supposed to be in the place in question. Of course, we thought we could be there, as we’d been to the old jail countless times doing the exact same thing and had never been told to leave. However, we were not allowed to ask questions that would have been relevant to such a defense, because at the time of the trial it was still a misdemeanor, so the robed man ruled against those questions, saying they weren’t relevant to whether or not we were told to leave and didn’t, which is what needed to be proven by the state gang for a misdemeanor conviction.
Recently, Free Keene blogger JJ discovered that 
Capuzzo has written 
