An arbitrary, round number was reached today on Facebook where Free Keene‘s like count crossed 5,000! Thank you so much! How exciting that it won’t be long before we catch up to the Keene Sentinel’s 5,565 likes. The Keene Sentinel, the area’s pro-state old media has a 100+ year head start, but the gap is closing!
![fox-news-logo[1]](https://i0.wp.com/freekeene.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/fox-news-logo1-150x150.jpg?resize=150%2C150){kind=logo}
I’m not sure what a flag-waving republican kid has to do with the Free State Project, but that’s the picture Fox News is running on a feature story about the FSP, currently the number-one story in the politics section on FoxNews.com. They get a major fact wrong, claiming the 2012 jury nullification bill was from 2002 – hopefully that will get corrected, but otherwise the piece is very good, and Keene gets a mention:
Libertarians eager to move beyond mere ideological victories are making progress in a long-term effort to migrate to one state to concentrate efforts and reshape communities based on their ideals of less government and individualism. (more…)
Clayton Holton is at every cannabis hearing at the state house that he can physically bring himself to, which is no easy task. Clayton has muscular dystrophy and lost his ability to walk at age 13. He enters the hearing rooms in his motorized wheelchair and every time tells the politicians the same story. For a decade he has been doing this and this year it finally looked like headway was being made. However, the NH Senate gutted critical provisions that will likely mean imminent death for Clayton. He doesn’t have much longer left. He needs your help by signing this petition asking governor Maggie Hassan to get a clue and let patients grow their own cannabis and have an affirmative medical defense – both things stripped from the bill at the request of the morally-vacant NH law enforcement establishment.
Here’s the petition, and here are Clayton’s own words on why you should sign it:
Because my weight is down to 63 pounds, and there are many other patients like me who can’t afford to wait.
As a 28-year-old battling muscular dystrophy, I’ve been fighting for my life since I lost my ability to walk at age 13.
I know from personal experience that medical marijuana works for me, having spent a summer in California several years ago. In the months that I was able to use it legally, I gained more than 10 pounds and was able to stop taking prescription pain medicines altogether. There is no cure for my condition, but medical marijuana relieves my pain and stimulates my appetite, dramatically improving my quality of life when I’m able to use it. (more…)
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.
Court of Record: Cheshire Superior Court, Keene, NH
Case Number: 12-cr-131
***
This press release was emailed to 657 reporters and news agencies on 5/24/2013 at 6:05pm – JJ
As you probably know, Keene’s heroic Robin Hooders have been sued by the “City of Keene” people and accused of harassing the meter maids. The Cheshire “Superior” Court sent notice of court date of June 10th at 9am. Here is a facebook event for the court date.
Please come out and support Keene’s Robin Hooders. You will also see the event on the Free Keene Calendar.
Please come support Rich Paul as he faces up to 81 years in prison for selling cannabis. You can join him on June 7th at 1:30pm at Cheshire “Superior” Court in Keene. Here’s a facebook event.
Also, please give to Rich’s appeal fundraiser. Details are here.
The Concord Patch has the story about the weak medical cannabis bill that has passed the NH Senate. The bill is very restrictive and in no way, “live free or die”. But, I guess it’s a baby step in the right direction. Ugh, politics sucks.
Medical marijuana is a step closer to reality for people suffering from serious diseases and health problems in New Hampshire. The state Senate voted 18-6 on Thursday to pass a medical marijuana bill.
The bill is an amended version of the House-passed bill. If the House doesn’t concur with the changes, leadership in each chamber will pick members to sit on a committee of conference to iron out differences in the legislation. (more…)
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