Posted on 03/30/2013 7:53:39 PM PDT by marktwain
“Not guilty” verdicts reached yesterday in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida trial of two men accused of gun-dealing and conspiracy raise new questions about federal prosecution tactics. Homer Helter and James Kassel “were acquitted of engaging in the business of selling firearms without a license and conspiracy to engage in the business of selling firearms,” NaplesNews.com reported.
Of significance was the government’s key witness, “a twice-convicted felon with a lengthy rap sheet who has earned at least $87,000 from the government over the past few years, including $7,500 for this case,” the report reveals. “Jurors weren’t told the star witness’ convictions involved murder, attempted murder and assault in aid of racketeering.”
That evokes valid comparisons to a similar group of defendants, the Reese family, former gun dealers from Deming, N.M., who were also acquitted, with money laundering charges against them dismissed, and with a new trial ordered for remaining counts when it was found the federal prosecutor withheld information from their jury about a criminal investigation one of their key witnesses was under.
It also evokes a comparison with the case of John Shipley, because like the defendants in the Florida case, he, too, was a collector who believed the sales he conducted were perfectly legal under existing law, which, based on results, is non-specific and arbitrarily applied enough to catch those without criminal intent in its net and destroy the lives of good people.
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
The number of entrapment cases and prosecute until bankrupt cases are on the rise since His Arrogance took office with his “my people” flunky.
Jury nulification. It ain’t just for OJ or rappers. Vote not guilty. Argue in the jury room until the cows come home. Don’t “refuse to deliberate”, just donlt agree, and always vote not guilty.
Obamanation Counterculture File.
I notice that they didn’t identify the informant, which allows him to continue to act to trap other people for a living.
A little known secret is how the government employs thousands of such people, either through coercion or reward, to do whatever they can to arrange enough evidence to arrest others. As you might imagine, such people are of low character, and are as likely as not to fabricate and prevaricate.
Some of them meet bitter ends:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/09/03/120903fa_fact_stillman
These slime sucking scum bag rats always accuse us of being haters. For the most part, they are right. Does that mean I hate these slime sucking scum bags? I’ll never tell.
Gee, almost as if the law in America has descended to the level one might find in... oh... say, Kenya?
If there were equality under the law then any citizen accused of gun running could simply bar all evidence from the court by issuing an Executive Privilege order over all of it and over all witnesses.
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