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Quadriplegic Serving Sentence for Marijuana Charge Dies.

norml.org — FTA: Washington, DC: A 27-year-old quadriplegic man sentenced to serve ten days in a Washington, DC jail on charges that he possessed a minor amount of marijuana died while in custody last week due to inadequate health care, including prison officials' failure to provide him with a ventilator.

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  • youser, on 10/11/2007, -6/+305Senseless witchhunt! What's even worse is that the judge gave him that jailtime because he was BEING HONEST!! And he died as a result. It's a disgrace!
    • JackBandit, on 10/11/2007, -5/+150if this isn't an eye opener for the senseless community around us, I dont know what will be..
    • sgglynn, on 10/11/2007, -7/+273The government finally got what they wanted. Proof you can die because of Marijuana, hope they are finally happy
    • bemenaker, on 10/11/2007, -27/+143If only he was a Hilton.
    • MadScientist420, on 10/11/2007, -11/+109Seriously. The man couldn't do most of the things in life that the rest of us sometimes take for granted, sex and video games for example. The least they can do is let the guy hit a bong once and a while. With any luck this story will blow up national news desks and really start the ball rolling on medical marijuana in more states.
    • DiggsOnlyNeoCon, on 10/11/2007, -22/+77Why is this headline being marketed as some current news? Look at the comments above... people seem to think this is going to be the Pearl Harbor that starts some marijuana movement. It's from almost THREE YEARS ago. Read the damn article.
    • paku, on 10/11/2007, -12/+28The "War on Drugs" works!

      Next please.
    • MadScientist420, on 10/11/2007, -4/+13@NeoCon, I did read the article but missed the date part. Thanks for pointing that out.
    • ijacker, on 10/11/2007, -5/+10am i the only one suprised that the jail was built wheel-chair assessable in the first place?
    • gratefulspread, on 10/11/2007, -6/+57i'd like to hear one good reason why marijuana shouldn't be legalized

      anyone?

      (if you argue that marijuana is not harmless and are just as bad as tobacco and alcohol...you are not only wrong, but are arguing in favor of legalization since these drugs are both legal in the united states)

      "but one joint has as much tar as four cigarettes"
      and yet if i were to walk down the street smoking 4 cigarettes in each hand, it would be completely legal. i agree, we SHOULD legalize it

      when it's finally legalized, all of the lawmakers, policemen, judges, principals, etc. will feel so 'silly' for ***** with so many otherwise innocent americans' lives
    • airquotes, on 10/11/2007, -8/+33the person responsible is Judge Judith Retchin lets get this *****!
    • roseap, on 10/11/2007, -4/+25I mean come on... by smoking pot, he was really helping the terrorists...

      /sarcasm
    • ijacker, on 10/11/2007, -2/+32@airquotes

      hast thou invoked the awesome might of the Diggmob?
      from http://www.dccourts.gov/dccourts/superior/judges.jsp
      Judith E. Retchin (202) 879-1866
    • fkr3, on 10/11/2007, -29/+5It's sad that he died and it's sad that marijauna - for medical use, not for retard stoners - is illegal, but here's a clue - don't admit to a judge that you broke a law.
    • rrasco, on 10/11/2007, -3/+31how do you charge a man who is a quadriplegic with possession? dude cant breathe on his own, much less 'possess' marijuana.
    • iceperson, on 10/11/2007, -35/+5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norml

      Hmm, old sensationalist propaganda from a hippy organization with an agenda. No thanks, I'm all stocked up on crazy...
    • MakinBacon, on 10/11/2007, -1/+25The sad thing is... I bet the anti-drug faction will add this death to their scientific data as another death caused by marijuana.
    • fuegosecret, on 10/11/2007, -16/+5story is 3 years old
    • iceperson, on 10/11/2007, -4/+11"The sad thing is... I bet the anti-drug faction will add this death to their scientific data as another death caused by marijuana."

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proximate_cause
    • slicedoranges, on 10/11/2007, -6/+7@ MadScientist420

      I know of a quadriplegic that won second place at a Counter-Strike tournament, and faps regularly.
    • dBLiSS, on 10/11/2007, -1/+23@DiggsOnlyNeoCon

      Ohhh.. it's three years ago! So that means the system is fixed now, right?
    • opieum, on 10/11/2007, -3/+12And Paris Hilton is complaining about her sentence?!! It could be ALOT worse. It was for this guy. I feel bad for him. He actually had a verifiable "Medical Condition" Keeping him under house arrest would be easy.

      But this is as much political as well. I figure in the next few years minor traffic violations will also be jailworthy as well. Jaywalking....1st offence probation 2nd jail for 10 days. Out on parole and jaywalk again? The chair. This behavior CANNOT be tolerated.

      :S Time to get to Canada before the fences go up there too.
    • airquotes, on 10/11/2007, -5/+8Apparently he had a semi automatic weapon on his lap when he was arrested (though I dont know how he would ever use it) I called and talked to someone over there, and as unfortunate as this incident was, the real enemy here is the war on drugs, not this judge. She gave 10 days which was fairly stiff, but it was well within her power to give months i learned. What we need is leniency towards marijuana so that things like this dont happen again. The person I spoke to in the court office was very nice and obviously saddened by his death.
    • spidoman, on 10/11/2007, -8/+28RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE.

      Don't worry everyone, you'll forget about this and digg up a funny video in the next fifteen minutes.

      Digg me down, but digg me down knowing that it's true.
    • Infowarmachine, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11this is the saddest thing ive heard in a while..
      this kid lived in a prison since he was 4 years old, clearly he couldnt have even bought the damn stuff himself, it made him feel better, his condition was imprisonment enough.. but the judge decided and now hes dead .................
      ***** stupid
    • SmokingPlunger, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11The world is seriously ***** up. Cannabis is a crime while alcohol and tobacco are legal. It's just the ***** of the world we live in today.
    • kpmc, on 10/11/2007, -15/+6@gratefulspread - "i'd like to hear one good reason why marijuana shouldn't be legalized"

      There is increasing evidence that cannabis, when use by people with a predisposition to mental health problems, is potentially very harmful. More importantly, studies have shown that cannabis adversely effects neurological development in children and young adults far more than adults with fully developed brains.

      Please see the Royal College of Psychiatrists website for various references and studies:

      http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinformation/mentalhealthproblems/alcoholanddrugs/cannabisandmentalhealth.aspx

      I don't know about the US, but in the UK and Europe most cannabis these days is 'Skunk Weed' - a super strong form of herbal cannabis that is often 25% plus THC, a long way off the 5% THC hashish I smoked (heavily) for many years. I'm now a frontline healthcare worker in the UK and regularly see psychotic teenagers who have been smoking dope since they were 13 or so and I'm becoming convinced that this super strong skunk is a major factor.

      There is no doubt that cannabis is a useful substance in the treatment (or relief of symptoms and side effects at least) for multiple sclerosis and people undergoing chemotherapy but that's a different issue.

      I feel rather stupid when I remember as a youth telling my mother that cannabis was harmless and dope's our only hope!
    • poopyfinger, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3How does he light the bong?
    • Grouser, on 10/11/2007, -12/+1A guy with breathing problems shouldn't be smoking pot, or anything else for that matter.
    • feellife, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11@ kpmc

      I do not disagree that marijuana may have bad effects on people with emotional problems, but could you please tell me what alcohol does to people with mental health issues?
    • choopah, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4@kpmc

      "There is increasing evidence that cannabis, when use by people with a predisposition to mental health problems, is potentially very harmful. More importantly, studies have shown that cannabis adversely effects neurological development in children and young adults far more than adults with fully developed brains. "

      could not similar issues come from child alchoholics?

      thats not the issue at hand here, as much as the issue is the "decriminalization" of marijuana.
      initially let me say that i am NOT a marijuana smoker. but as a taxpayer i am sick and tired of paying 1 billion a year (est.) for a minor offense.
      decriminalization would include a minimum amout of marijuana (on the person) to reach a misdemeanor which carries the punishment of a fine.
      not costly jail time, not state funded rehab, a fine. income for the state. simple process, no taxing needed for regulation, let the fines pay for it.


      as for the superskunk marijuana, meh, sign of the times i guess. things are always gunna be bigger and better, this doesnt prevent the obvious truth.
    • rarson, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4@kpmc,

      Your numbers are off, or at least, they're exaggerated. Most marijuana that teens smoke is about 5% THC.
      http://www.slate.com/?id=2074151

      Secondly, it doesn't really matter that much how much THC is in it. Once your body hits THC saturation, you won't get high anymore. The only effect that more potent marijuana has is that it allows users to smoke less of it. So really, higher potency marijuana would translate into a health benefit.

      So would legalizing it. One joint has as much tar as 4 cigarettes? Not if the joint is rolled into a filtered cigarette.
    • powerhouse, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8If only libertarians could get the pot smokers and gun people together. If only people treated every freedom as a freedom instead of looking at it disapprovingly if they don't like it.
    • Calcularius, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5The arresting cops, prosecutor, and judge should all be lynched.
    • Calcularius, on 10/11/2007, -3/+6"If only libertarians could get the pot smokers and gun people together. If only people treated every freedom as a freedom instead of looking at it disapprovingly if they don't like it. "

      Except that hundreds of people don't die every year from marijuana wounds.
    • DeFoster, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Another Victim of the War on Drugs.
    • thisguy47, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Why would they search a quadriplegic anyway?
    • Grouser, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Here's a photo of the "honorable" Judge Retchin. Apparently she attends local events at schools...

      http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/dc/images/USAJudgeRetchin.jpg

      Someone should make a wanted poster out of this.
    • DildoOreilly, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4US Biggest IMPRISONER

      The "land of the free"????

      Bullsh!t!

      We have more people in prisons than ANY industrialized nation on the earth!

      Human rights? ONLY for the Bush family!

      Fvck that bunch of scum!

      yOU TOO, Reagan!!
  • Sox2, on 10/17/2007, -0/+72i'm sure the point the judge was trying to make was worth this poor guys life.
    • sik0fewl, on 10/11/2007, -5/+9I think this is the first time I've heard of somebody dying from smoking marijuana.
    • musters, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9This is just sad, my heart goes out to this guy. He didn't deserve this.
    • firepowered, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2It's things like this that makes me step back, take a deep breathe and yell "***** YOU AMERICA"

      ok. thankyou.
  • StupidLiberal, on 10/11/2007, -2/+76This is one of the most ***** up things I've ever read.
  • NikoKun, on 10/11/2007, -2/+82The Judge and prison officials involved should all lose their jobs... -_-

    I hope the man has family, so they can sue the hell out of the judge/prison...
    • dreamlayers, on 10/11/2007, -2/+67I think they need to more than just lose their jobs because they were basically accomplices in murder. The article says he couldn't breathe on his own and they failed to provide him with a ventilator. How outrageous is that?
    • swrostmore, on 10/11/2007, -0/+50The judge and warden involved should be charged with manslaughter.This story encapsulates everything that is wrong with the war on drugs.
    • kaelyiesta, on 10/11/2007, -10/+22Absolutely agree. This is nothing less than criminal. What they did is morally apprehensible.
    • drmobutu, on 10/11/2007, -0/+30Apprehensible? You mean reprehensible, dude.
    • wonko33, on 10/11/2007, -16/+4Give me a break the judge is just freaking doing her job. If you want her to make a different decision pressure the Government to give her different laws to work with. On the other hand, maybe the warden has a substantial responsibility for what happened if he did not make medical necessities available to the deceased.

      @gratefulspread "when it's finally legalized, all of the lawmakers, policemen, judges, principals, etc. will feel so 'silly' for ***** with so many otherwise innocent americans' lives"

      Why would they feel bad? They are just upholding the laws, that's their jobs man, what are they supposed to do. Changing a law is not retroactive so why would they feel bad? You guys need to do something about changing the laws or STFU.

      I don't like pot for myself but I'd like it legalized because I don't like that people have to break the law and deal with criminals to get something that is not more dangerous than alcohol or tobacco. But for now the laws are there and when you get caught breaking them you get consequences.
    • Urusai, on 10/11/2007, -4/+7If we don't kill gimps who smoke pot, we'll have anarchy on our hands. ANARCHY, I TELLS YA!!
    • NikoKun, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5@wonko33, if that judge was doing his real job, he would be throwing out all cases on Marijuana...

      also, many cops after they quit the force, do feel like idiots for what they've done, check out LEAP's site. Some cops even admit they were addicted to the job, because of the Adrenalin rush.
    • MrDiggDugg, on 10/11/2007, -3/+4
      "@wonko33, if that judge was doing his real job, he would be throwing out all cases on Marijuana..."
      Right. Because the judges are there to make laws and not uphold them.

      I agree that the anti-drug laws are ridiculous, but it is /not/ up to a criminal court judge to throw them out. The only way a judge could do that is if the defense attorney presented sufficient evidence to indicate that the anti-drug law itself was against the constitution. On the other hand, the judge /did/ have the leeway to give the guy probation, yet she did not do so. /That/ is the extent of what she could have done.

    • orientis, on 10/11/2007, -9/+1"Apprehensible? You mean reprehensible, dude"

      Obviously he's never read the phrase in text before. He's heard it spoken - probably on TV - and is smart enough to kinda work out what it means from context. But he's still a ***** moron, in my opinion.

      /oh gee I hope that wasn't a foepar
    • wonko33, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3"if that judge was doing his real job, he would be throwing out all cases on Marijuana..."

      Well if you feel safe living in a society where judges are free to decide which laws to uphold or even invent laws on the spot while they are at it, you are a bit too trusty IMO
  • dblatti, on 10/11/2007, -1/+192This is absolutely horrid. Paris Hilton, sentenced for repeat offenses that put others in harms was released due to "medical concerns". Yet a first offender sentenced for a victim-less crime who was paralyzed and "unable to breath on his own" dies in prison.

    Person who is going to digg me down for mentioning Paris Hilton: Sorry, but it is applicable and timely.
    Person who is going to digg me down for calling marijuana possesion a "victim-less crime": die in a fire.

    • rebrad, on 10/11/2007, -0/+28Justice is expensive. In this case Justice walks and the money challenged dies.
    • johndi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+28It's is sad, but our legal system has little to do with justice these days.
    • edemerton, on 10/11/2007, -0/+10I guess being a quadriplegic has nothing on refusing to eat the bologna as far as medical conditions are concerned...

      This is just sickening.
    • jermm, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1No one is going to bury you for talking good about pot...
    • smileydude, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1We live in a sadistic society. People everywhere on TV have this feeling that bad people need to be punished and it must hurt, especially reprobates like paris hilton and this terminal quadriplegic potsmoker. they must be punished, and it must hurt! Why this obsession with the public wanting people to pay for their crimes? The hassle of getting caught up in the justice system for a first time offense is harrowing enough. Getting thrown in a cold jail cell might work for a violent drunk, mabe not for a pampered heiress or a thc addicted quadriplegic. paris hilton is disabled by her upbringing and present environment, which people resent. The guy in the wheelchair also disabled was probably letting the crack dealers on the block ditch their stash in his chair. It seems impossible for someone to be thrown in jail on a first offense cannabis posession, he probably was cooperating with street dealers and *****. I want to deny that people can be this sadistic, unchecked for three years. What happened to that judge?
      • endchildslavery, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0I believe that the need for a consequence for ones actions is used to provide the desired result of creating boundaries in society. If one person is reprimanded for their negative actions in society, it should cause another to think twice before acting. It also potentially deters repeat offenses. The concept has been abused by those in power and harshly victimizes those that are not. There are many cases of record to prove this. One that I think about is that of a "black" man sentenced to some 60 years for conviction of murder at ~14 years of age. The "murder" was committed because a group of "white" teens ransacked a public school bus full of middle school "black" students on there way to the newly introduced multi-racial education facility. The "white" teenagers in this town didn't want the school to exist. There is SO MUCH evidence providing the black man's innocence in this crime. If I remember correctly, the gun used was proven to be property of the local government. This gun ultimately disappeared (supposedly lost) as evidence after it was found to belong to an official. I think there is belief that the gun was actually brought to the scene by one of the "white" boys (belonged to his relative that worked with the local government). Because of the times (racist) and legal tangles, he remains in jail to this day! They are still trying to get this poor man out. Majority of his life has been spent in jail. My point is that money/power control our system.

        People that have enough money can commit murder and get away. People that try to take money can be sentenced as though they committed murder. People without money get...
  • Ragbrat, on 10/11/2007, -2/+19This is horrible! There should be outrage for this! A man, with very little life as it is, being sentenced to JAIL for the one HARMLESS thing that "made him feel
    better" and then dying as a result?!?! The Judge should be kicked out on his ass and the prison officials should all be fired and strapped for this crime against humanity. What is wrong with this country when smoking a simple plant is punishable, in our courts, by death yet a child-rapist will be set free without a blink of an eye?
    There is something very wrong here. Very Very Very Wrong.


  • obliviousfool, on 10/11/2007, -0/+25http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10798-2004Oct29.html

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56425-2004Dec10.html

    I'd never heard of this. Here's some articles from the Washington Post. The second one is a bit chilling because it talks about the extent of his ill health, and the fact that bits of information were blacked out of official documents. His jail sentence was interrupted by a hospital stay, but the hospital gave him back to the correctional facility even though they didn't apparently have the facilities to deal with whatever put him in the hospital (from jail) in the first place!
  • obliviousfool, on 10/11/2007, -0/+25http://cannabisculture.com/library/images/uploads/4050-Reagan_Magbie.jpg

    Here's a picture of him (as a kid) with Ronald Reagan!
    • ZWarren69, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2DAMN!
    • SpannerX, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I remember that photo! Holy cow!
    • NikoKun, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3woah, is that seriously him? lol
      Kind of... ironic aye?
    • chijim70, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Kind of ironic Reagans bitch of a wife started this whole ***** basically too. Putting "Just say no" on the inside of a lid of LemonHeads candy as part of her "Just say no to drugs" campaign. She's also the reason later I got the book thrown at me for a lousy quarter of shrooms... my first offense and wound up doing 2 years for it. Yeah thats justice...
      Osama said Reagan is the reason he felt he could get away with attacking the US because we were a paper tiger due to our lack of response to 200+ of our troops being killed by Hesbollah. We did NOTHING in response to that under Reagans watch. Dunno why people like him and his bitch so much.
  • bigd063, on 10/11/2007, -9/+6Just curious, how exactly did he spark up if he was quadriplegic? Did he get he caretaker to make him brownies or something?
  • 10001110101, on 10/11/2007, -2/+24Not that I'm saying this isn't abhorrent.. But the article is from 2004. Does anyone actually know if any action was taken against the judge/jail?
  • uptwolait, on 10/11/2007, -3/+22That's from 2004! Good thing our legal system has been fixed since then.
    • shillbert, on 10/11/2007, -0/+10LOL. Nice one.
    • UGM2099, on 10/11/2007, -1/+14I know! It's been a great 3 years since then. Can you believe we still used to use gasoline back then?
    • FearlessFreep, on 10/11/2007, -8/+2Good thing I don't come to digg for recent news
    • TheTaoOfBill, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Remember when we were outraged at 2.00 a gallon?

      ...sigh...
  • namelessuno, on 10/11/2007, -6/+6the government is here to help you.

    LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!
  • sgglynn, on 10/11/2007, -0/+32http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20070524-121326-9636r.htm

    Looks like they already paid off the family:
    FTA: Payments include $18,500 to an inmate who said his finger was severed when a corrections officer shut a gate on his hand, $12 million on behalf of thousands of inmates subjected to illegal strip-searches and detained for too long, and $1 million to the family of Jonathan Magbie, a paralyzed inmate who died while in custody.

    Another older article:
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10798-2004Oct29.html
    • Novagenesis, on 10/11/2007, -1/+14life is more valuable than money.
    • MadScientist420, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6So in conclusion, gov't officals and famous/rich people can avoid criminal charges with real criminal penalities as long as they cough up the right amount of money. Yay American justice!
    • FromACanteen, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9True, but money is what makes politicians in this country act. One million dollars was not enough though. This poor guy was effectively sentenced to death for doing the one thing in the world that made him feel good. And anyone who says he shouldn't have to smoke pot to feel good should ***** off because you (and me) could not even begin to imagine how he felt!
    • sodade, on 10/11/2007, -0/+17The real irony here is that the 1Million dollars came, not out of the judge's pocket, but rather out of yours and mine.
    • DivisibleByZero, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1Knowing our government's record for efficiency, getting the guy a ventilator for 10 days probably would have cost more than $1 million.
    • smileydude, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3This is timely news although a few years old. We have a government that is allowing sadism. The news yesterday that paris hilton was kept in a freezing cell is what happens to people when they get thrown in jail for minor reasons. They reported that they keep the cells especially cold even in a tropical climate like Los Angeles "to keep the prisoners calm". Drastic temperature changes applied to people across the board is cruel and unusual punishment. Isolating people from society is one thing, purposely making people uncomfortable on purpose by making jail facilities cold is dumb. They freeze everyone, the poor people that work there probably wear long underwear.

      Good for Washington D.C., they lead the abu gharaib reputation for killing potheads that admit they don't ever want to quit smoking the stuff. Poor guy's family probably got more from the city than from his life insurance.
  • effedup, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12..and paris hilton gets house arrest for an undisclosed "medical condition"..

    right.

  • Fredtheviking, on 10/11/2007, -31/+2Calm down, you potheads! The government not perfect... a 10 day sentence would be very lit sentence for just about anyone else. You should all be more forgiving and realize this just a senseless mistake.
    • MadScientist420, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1010 days for simple possession? That's insanity. Especially since as far as I can tell it was his 1st offense.
    • MadScientist420, on 10/11/2007, -12/+1Dup post. Digg down.
    • jimmy72, on 10/11/2007, -5/+5The senseless mistake is that your daddy didn't pull out *****.

      "The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government."
      Thomas Jefferson
    • brbubba, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Sorry bub, but someone should be in jail for this. This is one of the saddest most senseless deaths I have ever heard of. I can only hope that there is some serious karmic retribution for the judge and the doctors involved in this case. And I am sorry, but $1 million dollars doesn't even come close to atoning. I am goddamn sick and tired of government officials screwing up and not getting jail time. Instead they get sued, lose, and no one seems to care because its taxpayer money. What a joke.
    • wakananda, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1You know Fred, in the context of modern society, the viking ethos of leaving a trail of dead bodies is deemed inappropriate.
  • newyawker, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3So ***** up.
  • KarmaPoIice, on 10/11/2007, -5/+4This is unbelievable. If some story about an iPhone or some other ***** replaces this on the front page i swear...
  • maevealleine, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7This story is dated 2004. It's still, however, horrifying.
  • rodimusminor, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Washington DC is just a sh1th0le in every sense of the word. Nothing that happens there surprises me any longer. Inmates running the prison. Thank God for the Potomac river.
    • InSectWar, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2So i take it "Our Nation's Capital" (Yours actually, because I'm not American, i toke that from a movie) is not all its cracked up to be?
    • chijim70, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2yeah for those who don't know, specially outside the US, our capitol has been consistently the highest in about all crime statistics... the main one being murder. It's also worst in corruption, muggings, etc etc.
      It varies year to year of course but Washington D.C. consistently hovers in the top five for most major crimes committed in the US.
      If I could afford to leave... I'd already be gone...
      This country disgusts me more with each passing year. Fat complacent moronic lazy mental bastards.
      It's like somebody else said earlier... rabble rabble rabble... and 15 secs later they'll all be off reading about Paris.
      I think I feel worst for Mexicans because they actually WANT to be here.
  • moxley, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8Monetary payment is good and all...but I don't think the judge has paid yet..

    Judges who take part in enforcing these sort of laws, in railroading people, in allowing our corrupt government to continue committing reprehensible, repressive, cruel acts against Americans need to be called on their *****; and they need to pay.

    Just like during Nuremburg, once the current house of fascist cards falls (if it ever does) - all we're going to hear is how people were "just following orders," and "just doing their jobs."

    ---Which is exactly what the people tasked with dealing with these criminals swill be doing when they impose sentence (whatever sentence a truly honest and truly just society decides they deserve).
  • gilgamesh23, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5"paralyzed from the neck down since the age of four, was unable to breath on his own, and required nursing care 20 hours a day."
    Did they arrest him for marijuana in his home? Did the police bust into a quadriplegic's house and drag him out of bed? Did cop bust into his house, pull him off the ventilator, and throw him into cuffs? Was he arrested on some other charge and the cops discovered the grass then?
    I'm a little confused and I have questions!
    • moxley, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Does it matter?

      I could care less if he use a spark from the battery in his wheelchair to light one of George Bush's farts to spark a blunt, it was still wrong.
  • Dustin00, on 10/11/2007, -0/+15I feel safer knowing the government keeps these drug-fueled, blood-crazed addicts off the street.
    • CanceledCzech, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Me too. Every night I cry myself to sleep because I'm so afraid that the next day I might be mugged by a quadriplegic man "jonesing" for a fix! Thanks, United States!
  • MinorLemming, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10And yet Paris is out in 3 days for a crime that could have killed someone else.
    • moxley, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3Yeah...***** that stupid whore.

      "stupid spoiled whore, video playset...show all the world what a slut you are! Stupid spoiled whore, video playset..."

      I love how that episode ends...with Paris being swallowed by Mr Slave's ass.
  • FallenOmen, on 10/11/2007, -0/+20I knew a guy who was a Quadriplegic his name ( we called him ) Wheel Chair Rob - lived in Canada ...was charged with trafficking and he only had 3 grams on him !! He was fined , found guilty and sent to a correctional facility ...where he was later beat almost to death because when guards refused to pay attention that inmates were bothering his wheel chair....later he developed ammonia due to his body being savagely beaten and left in a cold cell for days with noone paying any attention .......................It's not only in the US it happens ...even in Canada where Marijuana are more lenient...this kind of unfair stuff still happens

    It's ***** !
    • jimmy72, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6You meant, "pneumonia." I dug you up anyway. :)
    • CanceledCzech, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I chuckled when he said ammonia. Don't worry, I still dugg your comment.
  • GettinReal, on 10/11/2007, -1/+17Wow. Its a wonder that the government trolls havent spammed this post yet.

    If the government doesnt care about the most helpless among us...do they care about you???

    Think about this. If you kill, rape, or torture a person then you are still entitled to keep your property. However, drug possession is one of the few charges where the narcs can confiscate your property. They then keep the stuff or auction it off and then use the funds to continue to build up their police state army.

    And people want to say that "Islamic Fascists" are the biggest threat to America???? Get REAL.




    • moxley, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8No, see, the islamic fundamentalist are a threat, but this sort of islamic fundamentalism was built up and used by the CIA to help fight a proxy war with Russia in Afghanistan in the 1980s. They have used them for many other things since. - and note, I am not saying all of the CIA is bad - we need an intelligence agency, but when you have compartmentalized programs within compartmentalized programs within special access projects with no oversight, no constrants, and exempt from all laws you have a monster which will only serve it's masters.

      The real fasicsts are these neocons, the neoconservative and christian constructionist movements ARE neofascist movements. They are the fascist threat to America, and their modus operandi is to use intelligence assets to create and manage situations (terrorist attacks and other such) so that they can the step in and react to the problem and also get public support for things the public would never support under normal circumstances.

      Hitler used the same tactics when he had the Reichstag burned down and blamed it on his political enemies.

      IMO the biggest threat to America is apathy, denial, and the manipulation of the people by criminal elements within the government.
    • DivisibleByZero, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2The whole drug seizure thing is predicated on the fact that the cars/house/etc were paid for with drug money. I wonder if they can seize a hitman's property too?
    • wakananda, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I agree with you to a point, moxley, but behind the "neocons" are the one percent, those of whom Bush said "I call you my base." The evangelicals are used; the liberals are used; the extremists of right and left are used, and the middle are kept in the dark and fed *****, mushroom style, by the MSM. The threat is a hostile takeover and liquidation of America, it's replacement with the "North American Union" - rule by anonymous, unelected mega-corporate shills. They are precipitating the collapse of the dollar, to create a pretext for adoption of the "amero" NAU currency. This is going to put a whammy on anyone not in the one percent - massive hardship. By contrast, Islamowhatever (nice try, warheads) have less chance of hurting us as getting struck by lightning.
    • catbeller, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1And the most vile aspect of that is that they sell your stuff *before you go to trial*. Looting. And the virus spreads: in Chicago, if they nail you picking up a hooker, or say they did, *they steal your car*. You don't get it back. Same thing some places with bicycles on sidewalks. They just take them on Sheridan Road. If you throw away your legal rights for some "war" on some drugs or immorality, they slowly creep up on you with new exemptions. Now, you can be declared a non-person and imprisoned overseas at some Executive Branch flunky's whim until you're dead. Yatzee.
  • travis712, on 10/11/2007, -0/+15@Fredtheviking:

    I think not providing someone that needs a ventilator to live is more then just a "senseless mistake". More like murder.
    • dmegivern, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7Did you read the story about the electric company who cut off the woman on oxygen despite pleas and payments made during the month they turned off her electricity? It was a story about New Zealand. Most people were ragging on her though. Said she deserved to die, because a) she didn't pay the bill, and b) her family should have helped. Folks seem to value life more on this thread. Or was it just because it was pot-related?
  • gr00vy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6The official inquest
    http://oig.dc.gov/news/PDF/release/Magbie_Special_Report_Summary_Version.pdf
  • LucidOne, on 10/11/2007, -0/+12This is a case of manslaughter! The judge and prosecutor were fully aware of his medical condition and failed to ensure that he received adequate treatment. They should be arrested and brought up on charges!
    • endchildslavery, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Isn't there immunity? Makes me think of Yvette Cade being denied of her protective order. The results were horrible. Her husband set her on fire. Don't judges receive a high level of immunity? There seems to be room for the argument that the sentence was only a ten day sentence. Very unfortunate results though...

      http://wjz.com/topstories/local_story_284152339.html
  • akatherder, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6How does a quadriplegic smoke or purchase weed?

    It sure seems like there are some other bits and pieces missing from this story, but it's still sad to hear.
  • DrinkPaint, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9LEGALIZE MARIJUANA NOW!
  • jmpeagle, on 10/11/2007, -4/+4that story is almost 3 years old
    • catbeller, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Digg didn't exist three years ago. consider it catching up.
  • merlingen, on 10/11/2007, -2/+9Well, at least he won't use any illegal drugs anymore now. The system works!
  • ajame007, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7This is both sick and wrong...

    Unfortunately, abuse of the disabled in prisons happens a lot more than you'd think...
  • FearlessFreep, on 10/11/2007, -6/+3People have died in prison for lots of stupid medical reasons but this only gets attention on digg is because it has the word "marijuana" in it.

    If he was in jail for jaywalking, no one would care
  • drmobutu, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2We need the Federal Government to recognize the medicinal use of marijuana, NOW!
  • RKFS, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6the only deaths Marijuana can cause seem to be because it's illegal.
  • darkMAMEr, on 10/11/2007, -1/+14So marijuana prohibition has now officially killed more people than marijuana ever has?
  • DivisibleByZero, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7People who need ventilators, and the inhalation of smoke don't seem to go together in my mind....
    • SilkSteel, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6There's other ways to get baked besides smoking dude.
  • blankman, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7I still don't understand why there's prison time for any crime that doesn't hurt people. Locking people in jail should be to stop them from being able to hurt others after they have done so.

    Even so, isn't being a prisoner in his own body (paralyzed from the neck down) enough for that guy? What were they keeping him from getting high and wheeling himself into traffic?
    • wakananda, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2The issue with marijuana is that it changes one's thought patterns. It is "thought crime" - the crime of altering one's consciousness in a manner of one's choosing. Note that legal drugs serve the purpose of the social organism, though they are harmful to the individual: taken before and during work, caffeine stimulates productivity. After work, alcohol dulls the mind and pacifies discontent at the source. People who get high, tend to think in eccentric, innovative ways (and laugh a lot when they do, which makes tight-assed people even more tense than they already are). We don't need a lot of eccentric, innovative ideas floating around; Carnegie, Rockefeller and Dewey created the school system in order to inhibit just this type of thinking, which leads to the social evil of "overproduction" (individuals competing successfully with conglomerates). Do you want to un-do all the progress we've made in education?
    • blankman, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I'm not saying that crimes that don't hurt people should be legal, but to lock someone up for it is kind of ridiculous.
    • endchildslavery, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Wow. That is such a strong statement. I think about all of the legal drugs on the market today. The list of side affects provided in each commercial to protect these companies. It bothers me to know that children don't have any rights as to what drug they are forced to take. I wonder how much harm has been caused by alcohol. In my opinion, the legal drug marked is protected based on monetary gain at the expense of those without power as is the illegal market protected based on monetary gain at the expense of those without power. I suppose there is room for argument that legalizing drugs that don't harm could result in an increased level of trafficking in drugs that do harm (cocaine, heroin, et al) supported by a growth in demand. Alcohol hurts way more people than this drug ever could.
  • void, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Wow this is the first death I've heard about from marijuana. Funny thing is it wasn't the weed that killed him, but the government's ridiculous laws.
  • Killwize, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3A couple people... and the state should be charged with murder!
  • VitriolAndAngst, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Hey, thank goodness his overbearing country ruined his life and not a drug habit.

    Mission accomplished jackbooted fascists!
  • DivisibleByZero, on 10/11/2007, -7/+4"Although Jonathan Magbie died from causes currently under investigation, it is clear that his death was the result of the overly punitive laws criminalizing the use and possession of marijuana."

    Umm, no....he died due to inadequate health care from the jail. What he was in jail for is irrelevant. Would NORML have considered his death justified if he was in jail for shoplifting?

    Stop exploiting other peoples' plight for your own remotely related political ends. Use this as an example for needing to provide better health care to prisoners, not a pulpit for legalizing marijuana.

    See, this priest here was killed in prison: http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/08/24/geoghan/index.html If only we had made child molestation legal, then he would have lived...
    • fantasticjon, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6I dugg you up because you are right in a sense. Really there were 2 injustices here. First , someone being put in jail for a first time offense of marijuana possession. But more importantly, the jail or prison was negligent in the care of their prisoner.

      But the judge should have used more discretion with a severely handicapped person. In a sense, the judge was being very even handed because he was giving the quadriplegic the same sentence he would give a able-bodied person. But it is his prerogative and his duty to consider all the factors when dolling out sentences. Otherwise judges wouldn't sentence people, we would just go to the law book look up the prescribed sentence whenever someone was found guilty of crime X.

    • DivisibleByZero, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5I see your point. If the judge had reason to suspect that the guy wouldn't get adequate care, he shouldn't have sent him there.
      But there are actual laws saying that prisoners have the right to medical treatment, etc. So not sure if the judge had reason to expect those laws wouldn't be followed.
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2I dugg up fantasticjon because he said what divisiblebyzero could have said; there are two travesties here.

      But really, the Marijuana laws fly totally in the face of the jail term. The justification for making Illegal these drugs, is for Public health. Well, we can see the lack of concern for the health of people in prison. What was accomplished?

      What is the Goal of making drugs illegal if it hasn't reduced consumption, and we know our government doesn't give a ***** about the public good anymore, since it takes them two months to track down bad spinach while they can't spend enough building embassys in Iraq?

      "
      Umm, no....he died due to inadequate health care from the jail. What he was in jail for is irrelevant. Would NORML have considered his death justified if he was in jail for shoplifting?
      "
      >> Who is getting exploited? They guy who died in jail? I think he'd like Marijuana to be illegal, and prisons to be for violent people and child molesters.

      Personally, I think hard time should be reserved for people who shoot and stab others. Child molesters. And Executives who rip people off -- like hiring illegal aliens. Nobody is stealing much that it is worth $35,000 a year to put them in prison, unless of course they Lobbied congress to steal it -- then of course, we are talking really, really big bucks.

      >> But everyone seems to get so upset about "he broke the law." Who doesn't these days? I don't do any illegal drugs but the laws are stupid, they make it profitable, and so we have a lot of people in prison.
  • Grandk, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2Is this justice? F' non violent offenders going to jail, especially drug users.
  • dracflamloc, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3What the *****....

    That judge needs to be brought up on negligence and the whole crew who didn't care for him properly need to be brought up on murder charges and for every police bribe they've ever taken.
  • DMan928, on 10/11/2007, -1/+13
    Did anyone else notice that he was paralyzed at the age of 4 by being struck by a Drunk Driver? Thrown in jail for pot, but life was ultimately destroyed 23 years ago by alcohol.

    I dunno, dig me down if you want. I just find it ironic.
    • endchildslavery, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Are you serious! I want to see that article. I just posted to say that alcohol hurts more people than this drug ever could. This case is one of the worst oversights that I have read about in a long time...So sad.
  • Shaman760, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Hey FredTheViking

    Careful what you wish for- the next "senseless death due to substance abuse" might be someone very close to you. But since you said it, go have another drink.
  • JRBLANCO, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3Can you say, MAJOR LAWSUIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • spacey, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Those of you who didn't vote for Bush and find this absolutely ridiculous are welcome to move up here to Canada. It's not as cold as you think.
  • 1Stoner, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Justice ?
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