Posted on 07/19/2006 2:03:15 PM PDT by presidio9
Keith Richards, lead guitarist for the Rolling Stones, has been promised a pardon for an old traffic offense -- courtesy of a fan, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Richards was fined $162.20 (88 pounds) for reckless driving in 1975 after being stopped in tiny Fordyce, 70 miles (113 km) south of Little Rock, between shows in Memphis and Dallas.
His car swerved when he tried to adjust the radio, Richards explained, but police said they smelled marijuana and took him and three others to jail. All were freed after a Stones lawyer posted bond, and Richards paid the fine by mail.
Huckabee, who plays bass guitar in an amateur band, said he talked to Richards backstage at a Rolling Stones concert on March 9. He said he suggested the rocker apply for a pardon after Richards joked about his past. The governor even assisted with the necessary form.
"I realised that his impression of our state was marred by a misdemeanour traffic stop," Huckabee said. "I wanted to clear his record in Arkansas as a goodwill gesture."
Asked whether there might be objections from Arkansas voters, Huckabee deadpanned, "Not from anybody with an IQ above plant life." He noted that none in Richards party was found in possession of, or under the influence of, drugs or alcohol.
"You can be my partner in crime"....
Someone please tell me why this guy should be pardoned
I wonder why he didn't just take I-40 to I-30 into Dallas.
I play guitar.
I wonder if I can get Mike to pardon my 1983 possession charge in Lewisville, Ark.
My teenager got a speeding ticket for going 35 mph in a 25 mph zone (they recently changed the speed limit on the street from 35 to 25, and it was posted but we weren't paying attention to the new signs.) I was in the car with him, and didn't think he was speeding at all, but the cops were running a "speed trap" with 6 police cars pulling folks over one after another.
Anyhoo, good lesson, he/we needed to pay closer attention, and he had to take the $150 out of his account to pay for the ticket. I'm sure he'll be more careful in the future, $150 is a lot of money to a teenager.
But the point is, why should this guy get pardoned. He can afford to pay the fine. Are you above the law because you're a rock star???
He's rich and famous.
I have to admit, that's a good line.
That still doesn't answer the question of why he should be pardoned when many others won't be.
I'm confused. Did Keith fail to pay the fine leveed in 1975? If so, why wasn't a warrent issued for his arrest?
In 2006 America, that's all you need.
The article says he paid it by mail.
You know you've got a point. I read it again. Looks like he paid the fine. So what was he pardoned from? I guess from the misdemeanor.
Did the route exist in 1975?
That's the way I've driven from Memphis to Dallas, with the little 440 jog around Little Rock.
Wouldn't there be a statute of limitations or does that not come in to play with traffic tickets?
>>Someone please tell me why this guy should be pardoned<<
Because there are separate laws for the elites and the rest of us.
I hope so.
I still haven't paid a parking ticket I got in Dallas in 1991.
OK, so what was the pardon for? It doesn't look like he was actually charged with anything. It was a traffic violation.
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