82 Year Old Widow has Home Seized for Son's sins.

Associated Press | 1-11-02 | Associated Press

[LloydofDSS]

Jan 11, 2002 Widow's Home Seized After Son's Arrest for Drug Possession The Associated Press ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Police have seized the house of an 82-year-old widow because they say she knew her son dealt drugs there and did nothing to stop him. Fannie Gresham's small home was seized Thursday under a state law allowing authorities to confiscate property linked to the illegal drug trade. Authorities also arrested her 50-year-old son, Tommie "Top Dollar" Gresham, on a drug charge after he allegedly dropped several rocks of crack cocaine and fled. Police records show 29 incidents of drug activity at the address since 1992 and authorities say drug dealers were caught numerous times fetching drugs from the house for street sales. Based on that, and police claims that the elder, widowed Gresham was helping her son's alleged operation, Superior Court Judge Stephen Boswell issued a court order in December allowing the seizure. Boswell gave Fannie Gresham 14 days to move her belongings. Her attorney, Jim Smith, likened the seizure to the widespread illegal taking of property and land from blacks that he says tarnishes America's past. "They have never seized any drugs in this house. This lady is not accused of a single thing," he said. Police predicted more such seizures as they crack down on the drug trade in the city's troubled neighborhoods. A hearing on the seizure has been scheduled in February.

[1 FELLOW FREEPER]

I am generally pro police, but this is a travesty, and the seisure laws are intellectually contemptible.

[Dane]

However, the outcry and bad publicity generated by doing as such might have made the officers think twice about a seizure and simply arrested the son on drug charges

What outcry? The only outcry is from the ACLU/Libertarian crowd on FR. The people who lived in this neighborhood where this happened wanted this to happen.

(From reply #63)A neighborhood watch group pushed for the government seizure after Gresham, known to neighbors as ''Ma,'' turned a deaf ear to warnings from friends, neighbors and police, Lumpkin said. Police predict more such seizures as they go after the drug trade in some of Athens' troubled neighborhoods

[VA Advogado]

Would all of you who are speaking in outrage have liked to live next door to this lady and her crack dealing son?

A while back I actually had one of these lunk head libertarians say they would rather live next to a crack dealer than someone like me. Granted I don't mow my lawn every weekend during the growing season, but I was amazed at the stupidity they exhibit. Thank GOD there are no libertarians in charge of enforcing our constitution or any other law in this country.

[BluesDuke]

Society demands this woman lose her home so that taxpayers may support her now that she's homeless.

Yep. That is our wonderful State. We would be better of if we elect the Mad Hatter as our next president.

[weikel]

Im against public funding of healthcare too. As for people who get hooked at 12 the world is a tough place deal with it.

[Twodees]

Thanks. We agree on some things, apparently. ;-)

[Twodees]

I was addressing Dane, who did indeed say that this was a crack house. I think you read the wrong response, since you didn't respond to the one I addressed to you.

[athiestwithagun]

Innocent owner laws are BS that only serve to salve the conscience of the rare Woddy that still has one. Now that the State has seized her largest asset she hasn't the money to hire the kind of legal muscle it takes to mount an assault on the thieves.

[Twodees]

I'm in recovery, too Mike. I used AA as well, and have never been treated at any treatment center. I've been to hundreds of meetings at treatment centers, though and it looks to me as though the rehab industry is run by liberal shrinks. A shrink trying to treat addiction is a fraud. Shrinks seem to see addiction as a behavioral problem which can be controlled by drugs.

Back in the late 80's I observed that the people who had insurance or $40,000.00 to pay a treatment center had less of a chance to make it than a street junkie who got clean on the cheap and turned to God for recovery in the fellowship. The folks who got the high priced treatment also got indoctrinated with liberal atheist psychology and were apt to be on psychotropics as "maintenance. I've seen many more of those folks relapse than I have the folks who just decided that they were better off in a meeting than in a treatment center after detoxification.

Sorry to wander off topic. Good to cyber-meetcha.

[Twodees]

There's no way that this nonsense is "clearly" constitutional. Just because the Supremes say it's in keeping with the Constitution doesn't make it so. Remember that it was a Supreme Court decision which "discovered" that a person's right to privacy somehow makes that person exempt from prosecution for murder for aborting her unborn child.

[Hildy]

Just another reminder why I decided not to have chidren!

[eaglewatch]

Have to admit I skimmed through most of the replies so maybe I missed the obvious question: If the police knew the son was dealing drugs, why didn't they just arrest his ass? If they had proof of 29 deals, then surely they had enough evidence to arrest him.

It is obvious to some of us that the WOD and the environazi movement is just an excuse to take away our rights and property as this story, and many more here on FR have shown over and over again.

[MindBender26]

Right now, like or hate it, this act, as well abortion are conctitutional. If we insist on our own interpretation of the Constitution, we abandon one of our strongest points, the need to elect those who would ammend the Constitution to make these act illegal.

If we insist on our own result-less read on the COnstitution, all we do is pi** in the wind. If we accept the legality, (but moral unaceptability) of the current read, then maybe enough people get angry enough to elect the right people to change it.

[gunshy]

Where is _Jim? he can explain how this is reasonable and proper.

[southern rock]

#1.. Because the average age when a kid gets hooked is 12. Is a 12 year old able to make rational decisions that will drive the restof their lives? Is your 12 year old? Were you so qualified at 12?

Parent's problem, not mine.

#2 Because after the addict crashes their body, they want the taxpayers to fund their health care for the rest of their lives. Isn't it better to stop the problem in the first place?

No. Stop all social programs instead.

[southern rock]

I know that this may go over your heads, but don't you think that some of the law abiding neigbors may be happy with getting a crack house out of their neighborhood. Of course the AP didn't interview any of her neighbors.

Ah, the "right" to approve of your neighbors. Please tell me where that is stated in the constitution.

[southern rock]

I think if someone wants to ruin their brain that badly, they'll find a way so just let them but don't give them free health care for doing it. Just let them deal with the results on their own.

So logical, so simple. It really is just that easy.

[tpaine]

There's no way that this nonsense is "clearly" constitutional. Just because the Supremes say it's in keeping with the Constitution doesn't make it so. Remember that it was a Supreme Court decision which "discovered" that a person's right to privacy somehow makes that person exempt from prosecution for murder for aborting her unborn child.

-------------------------------------

Your 'privacy' comment is a common misconception.

The USSC said that states can not ban abortion as a criminal offense until the child is viable, -- that it cannot be prohibited as a type of murder, or prosecuted as such without due process.

Prosecute each individual case of abortion in court, in front of a jury, as murder, and I doubt the USSC would object, or take an appeal.

A state can not deprive a pregnant woman of her life, liberty, or property, -- it cannot be seperated [ prohibited] from her, - without due process. See the 14th.