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(Fwd) [uma-list] Il caso Peter McWilliams
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Date sent: Fri, 04 Feb 2000 08:30:28 +0100
From: Miguel <marmi@imola.queen.it>
Subject: [uma-list] Il caso Peter McWilliams
To: umanisti@href.org
Send reply to: umanisti@href.org
umanisti@href.org
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Il primo paragrafo dice tutto di questo caso mostruoso:
"Vi prego di scrivere una lettera al giudice per aiutarmi a non andare in
carcere.
Mi chiamo Peter McWilliams. Sono sopravvissuto al cancro e sono affetto da
AIDS. Sono stato arrestato nel luglio del 1998 con accuse federali
attinenti al possesso di marihuana, anche se abito in California, uno stato
che ha aprovato l'uso medico della marihuana nel 1996".
Peter sara' certamente condannato ad almeno 5 anni, ma chiede almeno di
essere messo agli arresti domiciliari, con il sistema di "sorveglianza
elettronica".
Se qualcuno vuole scrivere al giudice, come lui chiede, seguite
attentamente le istruzioni e soprattutto non siate polemici: gli americani
non amano miserabili italiani che si intrufolano nella loro gestione della
"giustizia." Chiedete solo la clemenza per questo individuo, senza entrare
in merito alle leggi o alla politica americana sulla droga.
Tra l'altro, Peter McWilliams e' un bravissimo scrittore.
Miguel Martinez
http://www.kelebekler.com/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++
2-2-2000
Please help keep me out of federal prison by writing a letter to the judge
My name is Peter McWilliams. I am a cancer survivor living with AIDS. I
was arrested in July 1998 on federal medical marijuana charges, even
though I live in California, a state that approved medical marijuana use
in 1996.
In November 1999, the federal prosecutors successfully obtained an order
prohibiting me from mentioning to the jury that I have AIDS, that
marijuana is medicine, that the federal government supplies eight patients
with medical marijuana each month, or that California has a law permitting
the very act that I was accused of violating.
As I never denied my medical marijuana cultivation, that left me with no
defense whatsoever. To avoid an almost certain guilty verdict and a
ten-year mandatory-minimum sentence, I pled guilty to a lesser charge.
(The whole story is at www.petertrial.com) My sentencing for this charge
will be on March 27, 2000. The deadline for turning in letters of support
is February 20, 2000.
Would you please take the time to send a letter, or a fax, or even an
e-mail, to the judge on my behalf? It would make all the difference in my
world.
The letter need not be long or eloquent. One sentence is sufficient.
The judge can sentence me to 0 to 5 years. The federal sentencing
guidelines place my recommended (but not mandatory) sentence in the 5-year
range. It is probably unavoidable that I get a sentenced to some time --
perhaps the full five years.
What I am asking the judge -- and what I am asking you to ask the judge --
is that I be able to serve my sentence under "home detention," also known
as
"electronic monitoring." (An electronic transmitter would be permanently
fastened to my ankle and my whereabouts would be monitored 24 hours a day.
I would not be able to leave my home except for medical or court
appointments. As I live in Los Angeles, this will allow me to write my
books, including Galileo LA.)
In writing the Judge King, please observe these commonsense guidelines:
1. Please be respectful. The judge owes me, or you, nothing. You are
asking for a favor. When Judge King was asked to allow me to use medical
marijuana while out on bail, he said to the attorneys on both sides, in a
voice trembling with compassion, "I am struggling mightily with this.
Please, struggle with me." Alas, there was nothing in federal law that
permitted him to allow me to break federal law, even to save my life, but
I believed the sincerity of his struggle. Personally, I don't want judges
rewriting law as they see fit. Judge King is a good judge upholding a bad
law. My sentence, however, is at his discretion. I believe he will be
fair, that he will read the letter you send, and he will be moved by your
heartfelt request. I believe we owe courtesy to the King.
2. Please focus on my health (www.petertrial.com/undetectable.htm) and my
contributions to society (through my books www.mcwilliams.com/books) as
reasons why I should receive home detention or electronic monitoring (the
term can be used interchangeably). The legal arguments will be made by my
attorney.
3. If you know me, please say so, and state any positive character traits
you may have noticed wafting by from time to time. (This letter is not
written under oath, so you will not be arrested for perjury.)
4. If you have read any of my books, please say so. If they helped you,
please say how. (Exception: Please do not mention "Ain't Nobody's Business
if You Do." See 5.)
5. Please do not give your opinion of the War on Drugs (unless you're in
favor of it), how the government treated me in this case (unless you
approve), your views on medical marijuana (unless you're against it), or
anything else critical of the status quo. Save those remarks, however
well-reasoned and accurate, for letters-to-the-editor. Such comments may
be counterproductive in a letter to a federal judge.
6. If you can, please keep the letter to one page, and no longer than two.
Actual letters (those things made popular in the last millennium, printed
on paper, put into envelopes, and sent through the Post Office) are best.
Typed is better, but handwritten is fine. Please use the most impressive
letterhead to which you have legitimate access. (Your business stationery
is better than your personal stationery, for example.) If you don't have
stationery, you can create a letterhead on any word processor in about
two minutes.
Please address the letters to:
"The Honorable George H. King"
and begin the letter:
"Dear Judge King,"
Please mail the letters TO ME at:
Peter McWilliams
8165 Mannix Drive
Los Angeles, California 90046
If you know you're probably not going to get around to writing a letter
(and
I know just how you feel -- I don't know where to find an envelope any
more, much less a stamp -- please send a fax (signed, on letterhead, if
possible,
but if not, that's fine) to:
323-650-1541
If you think you might not get around to sending a fax, please send an
e-mail. Please write at the bottom of the e-mail "You have my permission
to reformat this letter, print it, and sign my name at the bottom." Your
name will be signed for you, next to which will be the initials of the
person signing it. Please include your complete mailing address.
The e-mail address is peter@mcwilliams.com
Finally, please circulate this request as widely as you can -- post it on
bulletin boards, send it to receptive people on your e-mail list, send it
out in newsletters, put it on your web page. Kindly use your creativity,
but, please, no spamming.
If you cannot post the entire message of this missive, the online address
of this request is www.petertrial.com/letters.htm.
Thank you from the bottom of my weary but very grateful heart.
Enjoy.
Peter McWilliams
peter@mcwilliams.com
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