Posted on 12/12/2008 5:51:02 AM PST by Alex Murphy
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A community activist who ran for Congress from prison, where he had been sent for warning that a judge could be tortured by God, can post bond while he appeals his conviction, an appeals court has ruled.
After being convicted and sentenced to probation in 2007 for paying people to vote in a Benton Harbor recall election, Edward Pinkney wrote an article in a small Chicago newspaper saying the judge who handled the case could be punished by God with curses, fever and "extreme burning" unless he changed his ways.
Another judge considered the article a threat and sentenced Pinkney to three to 10 years in prison for violating his probation. Pinkney, who says he's a Baptist minister, and his attorneys say he was only paraphrasing some Bible verses from the book of Deuteronomy.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed an appeal, saying his comments were protected under the First Amendment and that he was wrongly imprisoned. It also urged the Michigan Court of Appeals to release Pinkney on bond while the court considers the appeal of his sentence.
Decision on appeal expected in 2009
On Wednesday, the court granted the group's request that Pinkney be freed on bond during his appeal and directed the Berrien County Circuit Court to set the bond amount. A spokeswoman for the lower court said Thursday it had not yet received a copy of the decision, so no bond amount had been set.
The appeals court is expected to decide the merits of the appeal in 2009.
"We are thrilled that Rev. Edward Pinkney will be home with his family celebrating Christmas instead of sitting in prison for criticizing a judge," Michigan ACLU legal director Michael J. Steinberg said in a written statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
The guy sounds like a wack-job.
But even wack-jobs have the right to free speech.
If this story is accurate, then this man directly threatened no one.
What sort of Baptist?
What sort of politics?
What sort of parishioners?
Looks like a convenient case used to tar the religious center with the hairball lunacy of another self-made ‘Rev-er-rend Jackson.’ Methinks the politics are probably more left leaning, too.
Speak of the Devil Department: The article says the good Rev. Pinkney was a failed Green Party candidate for Congress. Not many Baptists I know are Green Party types.
Why is it that this guy writes an article saying a judge can be tortured by God gets arrested and convicted, yet some lesbian can say that Palin should be raped by black men and she gets a pass?
“paying people to vote in a Benton Harbor recall election”
Another “shining city on a hill” run by generations of Democrats.
Another judge considered the article a threat and sentenced Pinkney to three to 10 years in prison for violating his probation.
The lesbian wasn't convicted and sentenced for paying people to vote.
The difference is the conditions of probation. Convicted felons have lost many Constitutional rights. If you want to keep your Constitutional rights don't get convicted of a felony.
I’m not so sure that you are allowed to threaten people as long as you don’t have a prior felony conviction.
He was in prison for violating his parole from his conviction for paying people to vote.
His particular violation of his parole was threatening a judge by saying God could (or would) punish the judge who intially sentence him to parole.
The lesbian was not on parole and as such did not violate her parole. Hence she was not jailed as our hero in this case was...
That should be probation not parole in post 11...
I’m not arguing that. He was on proby for voter fraud. What do you think of voter Fraud? He’s no better than ACORN in my opinion.
If you hire a hit man, you commit a crime even if the hit wasn't accomplished. Just because you didn't have a prior felony conviction, doesn't give you a pass. *just saying*
No, but they have a much tougher case to prove. This guy is still on probation which means that if he even sneezes the wrong way, or doesn't answer any and all questions humbly enough, more years can be added to his sentence.
When anyone is on probation they have to obey the court. If they displease the court in any way they will be punished. Writing nasty letters to the editor is a great way to get punished. All probationers should be asking is how high the court wants them to jump.
Seems to me everyone is missing the point. It appears that a court finally recognizes that God exists, otherwise there could be no possibility of a threat.
Al
I think you're on to something here!
Well, I agree with previous poster that the comments by the so-called preacher are not really threats.
I would also say the comments by the so-called comedian were not really threats as well.
It can be argued both were out of line, but I don’t really think, as they were reported, either were really threats.
Now with that said, a prior conviciton alone is not enough to allow for an arrest in this case, threat or not. However, the accused was on probation. This is the key. Appearently, the judge felt the comments written by the “preacher” were in violation of the probation and hence the arrest.
Since the “comedian” was not on probation at the time of her comments, she could not have violated her parole.
This is not a case of comparing two similiar threats. Rather this is a case of one individual potentially violatiing his probation.
The “preacher” was not arrest solely for the so-called threat; rather he was arrested for violating his probation.
“Not many Baptists I know are Green Party types.”
Well you need to get out more.
“Polluters in the hands of an angry mother Earth” is a famous sermon preached by Bro. Al Gore.
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