Better you than me , here's a picture from the website of this women's liberal-arts college
Posted on 01/04/2007 4:58:32 AM PST by grjr21
A Bryn Mawr College student wrongly jailed for three weeks on drug charges by Philadelphia police has settled her civil-rights case for $180,000.
Janet H. Lee, now a senior, was arrested at Philadelphia International Airport in 2003 after screeners found three condoms filled with white powder in her carry-on and city police said field tests showed that the substances likely contained opium and cocaine.
Lee was held in lieu of $500,000 bond for 21 days, until further drug testing proved that her unlikely story - that the powder was just flour - was true.
As part of an exam ritual in her dorm, Lee had filled the condoms with flour to make a phallic toy that freshmen squeezed to reduce stress. She had found it so funny that she had packed them to take home to California to show friends after exams.
Lee's civil-rights case against the city had been scheduled for trial today in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.
"Everyone wants their day in court, so it was difficult" to settle, in part because she will never know why the flour initially tested positive for drugs, she said yesterday.
"It's like everyone was at fault, but no one was responsible," Lee said.
At least, she said, the settlement means she will not have to testify about what it is like to spend three weeks in a city jail for a crime she did not commit, particularly after spending much of the last three years working to heal herself psychologically.
"Part of going to trial would have meant that I have to acknowledge losses and admit that this had damaged me," she said. "I didn't want to have to admit that."
Lynne Sitarski, chief deputy of the city solicitor's civil-rights division, said the city "is not admitting wrongdoing or liability."
The settlement, the city lawyer said, was "in the best interests of the city."
Lee, now 21, was not physically injured while jailed, said her lawyer, Jeffrey Ibrahim.
One of the settlement provisions allows Lee to meet with city police to discuss what happened.
"Leadership is going to sit down and listen with her to see what went on," Ibrahim said.
Lee has heard criticism that carrying white substances onto an airplane was a foolhardy act. But, she said yesterday, she did not know at the time that drug dealers often carry drugs in condoms. "I was naive, really stupid," she said.
Nonetheless, her lawyer said, the police drug test should not have detected drugs.
"Under the circumstances, something went terribly wrong," Ibrahim said. "We're trying to ensure that nothing like that ever happens again."
Asked if others had successfully sued or settled claims involving false-positive drug tests in Philadelphia in the last two or three years, Sitarski said that no one had.
Lee, a comparative literature major, said she planned to use the settlement money to pay for graduate school, though she has not determined what kind of graduate work she will pursue. Law school is an unlikely option, she said.
Yeah let's see the DA use that to make his case.
It was. It tested positive. Justice was served, and served quickly.
It just so happens that it was a false positive. The results were in error. A mistake was made. No one is claiming it was intentional.
But my point is that all off this cold have been avoided if she was wasn't so ignorant. I am saying she bears some, if not most, of the responsibility for what happened to her.
The best way to reduce stress is to squeeze the real thing.
The logical end -- the cop sees the "gun" and shoots.
The point being that the individual bears most of the responsibility for what happens. Don't point a squirt gun at a cop and don't carry flour in a condom in your suitcase on a plane. Unpleasant things may happen to you.
C'mon people. This is Common Sense 101.
So when the state unintentionally and harmfully errs, out of ignorance, that's just fine. Lock an innocent citizen away in jail on half a million dollars bail for three weeks, mulligan!
But when the citizen unintentionally and harmlessly errs, out of ignorance, she was "acting stupidly", bears "most of the responsibility", and being locked in a cage for a couple weeks is justice being served.
That's scary.
I agree. Unfortunately they now have $180,000 less to do it with. Which is fine by you. Which makes me question your sincerity.
"it seems to me to be substantially in excess of the amount required to ensure her appearance in court"
Not really. Three condoms of cocaine is a lot of money, even at retail. If she can afford that, she can afford the bail. The bail was appropriate, assuming the drugs were real.
>>"Everyone wants their day in court, so it was difficult" to settle, in part because she will never know why the flour initially tested positive for drugs, she said yesterday. <<
There is where the story is.
The same one where a person who pointed his finger at a cop was convicted of making terroristic threats.
Not in condoms, I would wager. The entire purpose of the condom, as I stated, is to allow the drugs to be transported in the mule's stomach.
It's not "just fine". But it's also not $180,000.
People have been sent to prison for years and years then freed after their innocence is proven. No money changes hands.
But dingbat here goofs around and bitches about 3 weeks? Sorry lady. You just learned the hard way what not to do. Move on.
So what should happen? What would be just?
No, I think her story is true. With all the bowls of free condoms sitting around college dorms it would be amazing if students didn't find jokey uses for them.
C'mon people. This is Common Sense 101.
It is reasonable to expect a citizen to know not to appear to threaten others, especially police officers with violence. It is not reasonable to expect a citizen to know what ne-er-do-wells have used to hide their contraband in the past.
A condom squeeze-it novelty in plain sight in your luggage only says drug smuggler if you've watched too many bad movies.
Just a couple weeks ago, DEA intercepted computer equipment packed with heroin resin in the heatsink fins being shipped up from Columbia. Maybe unpleasant things should happen to American citizens who stupidly fly with their laptops now too.
A detailed explantion of exactly what went wrong. A detailed explanation of how it will be corrected. A written apology from those involved.
It would also be nice, though not necessary, for her to apologize for being ignorant and stupid, forcing the city to bear the time and expense to prosecute his case.
Hmmm. This usage of the term "forcing" indicates that I am not as familiar with the definition of that word as I had previously thought.
She was giving them to friends.
That no money, or not enough money changes hands as a consequence of wrongful imprisonment is exactly why innocent people are sent to prison for years and years. Harming innocent people should have consequences.
Having to cut $180,000 out of the city budget that year will encourage more respect for citizen's rights next time so as to not have to pay that again.
Having to say "Sorry lady, go home." is not motivation to change anything. It is officially saying that what happened is just fine.
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